The Beginning of Us
by Juliettebee
Summary: Joel softens up for a change and takes someone under his wing. This new resident stirs things up in his life. However, he's letting his past keep him from moving forward. Can he put all of his hurt aside to make room for one more in his family? Will Ellie ever live the life she always dreamed for herself? Can she forgive Joel for lying to her about the Fireflies?
1. A New Face

**I wrote this all in about the space of an hour. The idea just came to me all of a sudden, so I decided to get it all down. This is my very first fanfic, ever, but I tried to do my best. Please leave me a review if you liked it, or even if you didn't like it! I hope to keep this going, so let me know what you think! :)**

Joel ran down the trail leading from the dam, and Ellie was having a hard time keeping up. It was turning to fall once again, and the air felt like cold knives going down her throat.

They were scavenging for some food for the group, and Ellie wanted to have a race. Joel knew full well that he could outrun her, old age or not, but he was going to let her win in the end. They passed the same old landmarks they had grown to recognize, but Joel still kept an eye out for infected or a stray hunter.

Joel slowed down, letting Ellie pass him. He faked jagged breaths, and suddenly stopped. Ellie, unfazed, turned to look back at him. "You win," Joel sputtered, bending over to rest his hands on his knees. She laughed, feeling as though she did beat him.

He pulled out his shotgun. They needed to be careful, there were bears in the woods. Ellie wandered off to his right, but close enough so that he could hear her footsteps. Joel spotted a car that was heavily rusted out, but he noticed that the door was open, and just last week it was firmly shut. He approached it, slowly, and looked inside. The seats had been dusted off, and a small can of smoked salmon lay on the backseat. He held it to his nose; it was fresh. He looked around the car, for any signs of humanity, but saw none.

"Ellie," he started, but turned around to hear her scream. She was pointing at a dead bear cub. Its head was separated from the body, cut apart with the rim of a tire. "Wait here," and ushered her behind some bushes. He followed the path Ellie had started, and Joel could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He saw nothing, and hit a dead end when he reached a sheer boulder. He walked back to where Ellie was, and she was nowhere to be seen.

"Ellie!" He yelled, frantically looking. She was always running off, and Joel was scared that one of these days she wasn't going to find a way out. He went back to the path where the car was, and continued forward, still calling out for Ellie.

He rounded the corner, and he saw a woman with her back to him. She was in front of Ellie, and had a knife in her hand. Joel grabbed her from behind, and held her in a chokehold. She flailed around, dropping her knife in the process.

"Stop it, dumbass, stop!" Ellie shouted, trying to pry his arms from her. He let her go, and the woman backed up to face him.

It was unmistakeable. It was the first thing he noticed. The woman was heavily pregnant. "Please don't hurt me," she said. "I'll give you whatever I have. Just let me go." She was significantly different than most travelers they'd seen. She looked extremely clean, from her hair to her face, all the way down to her shoes. Everything was a bit worn, but clean. She also had long, blonde hair. Nobody had long hair anymore. Wasn't worth the trouble. Her nails were even well kept, and Joel wondered what she was doing out here.

"Are you alone?" He asked. She nodded.

"Why the hell are you by yourself? Ain't you with some kinda group?"

"No, the group I was with left me when they found out I was pregnant. I'm just wandering around, looking for somewhere to go." She looked sincere, but Joel knew not to trust anybody nowadays.

"Well we've got-" Ellie stopped, seeing Joel's disapproving glare.

"Just let me go. I'll stay away from here. I don't mean any trouble, I've just been looking for a safe place, to have my baby. I didn't know anyone was living around here. Sorry." She bent down to pick up her knife, but couldn't because her belly was in the way. Joel picked it up for her.

"Look, miss. I'll go see with our group if its okay if you hang around for a little while. Just until you get back on your feet. You really ain't fit for wanderin' this area." Joel didn't know why he was offering her anything, let alone to stay with Tommy's group. But, there was something about her, he trusted her, and felt like he needed to help her.

The three walked back to town, Ellie helping the woman out with her stuff. She had a large backpack with her, stuffed full. Joel wondered where and how she managed to carry all of it around for so long. She moved with ease around the rocks and fallen branches, but she slowed him down quite a bit. When they reached the gate, Ellie and the woman stayed behind. He handed her the knife back.

...

"She's your problem, your responsibility. Don't come to me cause you ain't ready to handle this shit." Tommy wasn't understanding, but saw the woman as another person who could help around town. And another mouth to feed. But Joel had something in his eyes. He couldn't say no to his brother. Joel never asked for much, and when he did, it was important.

When Joel brought Ellie and the woman to town, Tommy was the first to see her. She was everything Joel had said. She wasn't much taller than Ellie. Wasn't all that much older, either. She was twenty-two at the most. Pregnancy was so infrequent now, and most of the women who were pregnant were well over thirty. The responsibility of having a child was way too much for someone young to handle. Why was she foolin' around like that? Didn't she have sense enough to know what kind of hell she was putting herself through?

"Hey, I'm Jemma." She held out her hand to shake, but Tommy just stared. He was somewhat disgusted at the whole scenario. He really didn't want to have to deal with her. The youngest child in town was five, and that was hard enough to deal with. The thought of having a baby screaming into the night made his head swim. "Okay," she muttered, and continued on with Joel and Ellie.

It didn't matter if he told Joel that Jemma was his responsibility. Tommy knew in one way or another he'd be dealing with that brat first hand.

...

Jemma wasn't expecting much of the house, but when she walked inside, she was disappointed. The walls and furniture were dirty, and it looked cramped and unorganized. She felt a lump in her throat as she walked further and further through the house.

"We don't hang around here much," Joel explained, trying to straighten things as they went along. He brought her to the spare room, which, at the moment, had been occupied by spare clothing and books, thrown into senseless piles.

"This is great," she said, and walked into the room. "Sure beats sleeping in cars." She turned to Ellie. "Want to help me unpack?"

Joel walked out of the room to meet up with Tommy and talk about plans for the upcoming week.

Jemma pushed the clothes onto one side of the room. There wasn't a bed or dresser in the room, but she'd figure that out later. A window faced south, and the view wasn't blocked by houses or trees, and she could see right to the river and hills. She was happy to have some stability here, but she didn't want to rely on them for help.

Ellie unzipped the bag she had been carrying. It looked like it was stuffed with clothes. She pulled most of it out at once, and noticed that the jackets and pants had smaller items in their pockets. Things like paperback books and pencils were in them, and Ellie was surprised at how much she had managed to cram inside of them. In the bottom of the bag were three measly food cans.

"If you guys hadn't shown up, I'd probably have starved." Jemma laughed. "I would have eaten that bear...maybe." She took of the backpack she was carrying on her shoulders, and pulled out a few smaller bags. "Hey, do you know what this is, Ellie?" She held up a small metal looking thing, with a circle on the front. "It plays music. Apparently it was some big thing back in the day. My dad gave it to me a few years ago. It has a ton of music on it. Want to listen?"

"Whoa, let me see." Ellie took it from her and started pressing on the circle. Its screen lit up with an apple. "How does this even work?"

"You have to have speakers or headphones to listen." She dug around in her bag and pulled out a white cable and square box looking thing. "This is a solar charging panel. I'm surprised I haven't broken it yet, but I think it needs to be charged. We can listen to it later."

Jemma had all kinds of stuff in her bag. She had so many books and other things from before the outbreak. Ellie thought she was so cool, and wanted to hear about everything she had.

"This is called lipstick. You know what that is? Of course you do. I found it at a mall, underneath a cabinet. I actually have a few of these, but this one is my favorite." Jemma twisted it up to reveal what looked like pink wax. Ellie couldn't imagine how that was supposed to make women look good, but, whatever, it was still cool to see it. Jemma had a lot of makeup, even though she wasn't wearing it, but she still kept it for the hell of it. Ellie wished she had her own collection of stuff like that, but Joel would never let her carry that around.

"Do you want to read these?" Jemma pushed the books to Ellie. "I've read them a few times each. I need a change." She laughed. "And I already know what's going to happen, which kind of ruins the book."

"Hell yes!" Ellie grabbed the books and set them by the door. Jemma was sitting on the floor, cross legged. Ellie wondered why Joel would offer her a place to stay at town. He wasn't like that, and he certainly didn't trust anyone he didn't know for a long time.

"Is the father dead?" Ellie pointed to her stomach. It was huge in comparison to the rest of her body. Jemma wasn't that thin, but she was pretty short and it seemed so out of place.

"Um, I think so."

"You don't know?"

"No, but even if he is alive, I wouldn't want to see him."

Ellie was somewhat taken back. "Why?"

"You know, we can talk about this another day. Lets go find me something to sleep on."

They settled on taking the couch cushions and making a half assed bed. Ellie offered Jemma her bed, but she quickly refused, saying that she had been sleeping on worse.

...

"Tonight we're all eating together. Every week, the town gets together and eats dinner and that kind of stuff," Ellie explained. "Like, a meeting, but it's so boring so I never pay attention to that." They were walking down the street to meet up with Joel.

Jemma could feel the townspeople watching her. In a way, this was a walk of shame. She could feel the judgement rolling in. She tried her best, though. When Ellie was in the bathroom, she put on her favorite maternity dress, an off white one with lace around the collar and sleeves. She'd been waiting to wear it for ages, because it wasn't practical when she was walking through towns and over rocks. She put on her 'Sunday shoes,' just some flats that were a nude color and decorated with one small bow in the corner. Jemma brushed her hair and teeth, and even applied a very small amount of lipstick.

"Holy shit, you look like you're from thirty years ago," Ellie said when she saw Jemma. They came to a large building, a common area of sorts. Several men were in the front room, Tommy and Joel among them.

When they finally got to Joel, he didn't even bother to look at them. He was going over a map with Tommy, talking about wind patterns and currents. Tommy saw Jemma, and he couldn't stop looking. She was like an image of the past. There was something about her face and maybe the way she dressed, that, just seemed, different. Like she wasn't caught up in the world and the horrible things that were going on. She looked carefree, even happy.

"Well, uh, we'll leave you guys to your business," Ellie said, and backed out of the room.

They walked over to the kitchen. Some of the women of the town were starting to prepare for the dinner tonight. They brought out flour and spices, and there were a few cuts of meat on a table.

"What's for dinner?" Jemma asked.

"Beef and potatoes," a tall woman responded. She had stringy red hair, and it was cut around her jawline. Her skin was mottled, and she seemed unhappy. Her bones jutted out at all the wrong places.

"That's all?"

"Yes, beef and boiled potatoes. Is that enough for you, princess?" The more Jemma looked, the more unattractive the woman looked. She had a pig nose and cloudy eyes. Jemma noticed a wedding ring on her finger. Poor guy, she thought.

Ellie walked out of the kitchen, leaving Jemma behind. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall. "Do you mind if I help out?"

The redhead pointed over to a pile of potatoes. "The peeler is in the third drawer down to the left of the stove."

Jemma was happy to have her hands busy. She worked fast, and it left her time to think. She finished the pile in fifteen minutes. There was a giant stock pot on the stove, bigger than she'd ever seen. She put the potatoes in, and filled it with water, and waited for the boil.

The women who worked in the kitchen were all pretty haggard. Very skinny and angry looking. Jemma thought they had to cook really well or else no man would want to be with them. She snorted, trying to suppress her laughter.

Her potatoes finished some time later, but she couldn't get the pot off the stove. The redhead pushed her aside and picked it up with one swift movement. She poured the water out into the sink, and put the pot on the ground. "Now it's on your level," she sneered.

Jemma looked in the fridge for something. She found some milk and butter, and decided to make mashed potatoes. All the other women had left the room, the meat slowly warming in the oven. She mixed and mixed until she had a creamy consistency, and, by then, the rest of the dinner was finished.

A gray haired woman helped Jemma spoon the potatoes into several bowls. "These smell divine," she whispered, and Jemma saw she had a nice depth to her eyes. So deep, and when she looked, she felt that the woman was looking back at her. The kind of eyes wise people have.

"Thanks," she said.


	2. Spring Cleaning

**Still a bit bland, but I promise the next chapter will be soooooo much better! Needless to say, I think this chapter is still better than the last. Feel free to comment on my grammar, or if you think the story just plain sucks. I mean it, really. :)**

Jemma found a seat with Ellie. Joel hadn't shown up yet, and she saved him a seat next to her. The town only consisted of around fifty people, much less than Jemma thought. She found out that the building used to be a town hall, but over the last few years, Tommy and a few other men spruced it up with a kitchen and other things.

She wished she hadn't worn the dress.

Everyone had dished up, and started to eat, and Jemma looked at her plate. Joel saw her hesitation, and asked her if she was alright.

"Don't you guys say prayer?" She wasn't embarrassed to ask, but as soon as the last word left her mouth, a certain quietness went through the hall.

Jemma stood up. "I'll say grace over our food," she said, and folded her arms.

"Dear kind Father in Heaven, we thank thee for this day. We thank thee for everything that thou has given us. Please bless this food, so that we can get strength from it to better serve thee. Please give us the strength to forgive those who have trespassed against us. Again, we thank thee for giving us this food to eat and this company to share. We thank thee for the safety that thou has given us. We say these things, humbly, in the name of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, amen." She looked up to see that most of the group had joined her by bowing their heads. Even the redhead.

As she sat down, Ellie congratulated her. "That was so badass! I've never heard a REAL prayer!" Jemma laughed.

"I say a prayer every time I eat. My father once told me that when you forget to be grateful, God won't listen to you. Or something like that."

Joel joined in the conversation. "I heard you made these taters. I haven't had mashed potatoes in years."

"Really?"

"They don't make anything spectacular here," Ellie explained.

Jemma looked at her food. She realized she didn't have much of an appetite. "You can eat my share," she whispered to Ellie as she stood to leave.

...

Jemma actually felt really sick. She walked down the front steps of the hall, and it hit her all at once. She gagged, but she couldn't throw up because her stomach was practically empty. She just wanted to go to sleep, and she headed towards the direction of Joel and Ellie's house.

She thought she could feel her baby move inside of her, which sickened her even more. She didn't want to have that fucking thing. She just imagined it, holding it in her arms, covered in baby goo and who knows what else. Crying, and eating, and shitting, and just repeating that for two years. She should have just killed herself a long time ago. But, she thought, she used to be like that, so maybe there was some hope.

When Jemma got to the house, the sun had set low in the sky. Thank God they had electricity and running water. It felt like home again. The door wasn't locked, but Ellie had told her that nobody bothered to lock them. It was a wonder that they didn't; a lot of them seemed pretty hostile. She guessed in a town like this, people didn't think twice about stealing. There wasn't any need, because they had everything they could want for handed to them.

She took off her shoes and laid down on the makeshift bed. Jemma was so tired and her feet hurt so much, she didn't want to bother finding a blanket to use. Her mind wandered to a story she once read when she was younger.

It was about two teenage boys, who both had run away from home, because one of them had killed a popular guy who had been harassing them. It was supposed to be some legendary book, about teen angst and growing up, but as Jemma read, the terms 'soc' and 'greaser' were too confusing and so she skipped to the end. She wasn't impressed, but maybe back then people didn't have very many things to worry about.

She was so caught in thinking about the past that she fell asleep in a few minutes. She dreamed that she was driving down a long, straight road. It was in the middle of a desert, and the sun was beginning to set. She was driving a red convertible Jaguar, with the top down. She drove hard and fast, and her hair whipped around in the wind. Jemma turned her head to the backseat and saw Ellie looking back at her. She felt a flutter in her stomach, and Jemma looked down. She wasn't pregnant anymore.

She was free.

And then she woke up.

...

Joel couldn't fall asleep that night. He sat on the front porch to watch the stars, and he started to think about the future. What was he going to do when Jemma had her baby? He hoped that Ellie wouldn't get too attached. How was she going to react when Jemma left town? Joel knew he wouldn't let himself get too involved in her life. Something compelled him to ask Jemma to stay with them. Could a God still exist and this was his salvation? Somehow he could redeem his damned soul by helping this woman out?

He thought about all the people he had hurt. All the men that he killed. Was Joel's own life worth all those deaths? He had written himself off a long time ago, long before he and Tommy were hunters.

And Sarah. He let her die in his arms. He-

He could never forgive himself for that. Only God forgives, and God would never forgive Joel for letting her die.

The sun began to rise before he could get his mind off all of the things he had done. He heard Ellie and Jemma talking.

Jemma had a sweet voice, high and smooth, yet it was tangled with something he didn't quite recognize. Boredom, almost, but something deeper than that. He could listen to it all day. Jemma was, beautiful, he could say. It was strange to him, how it was unmarred by the world they lived in. Her skin was unblemished, her her eyes still bright. She looked completely out of place. She had a thickness in her thighs, something that he hadn't seen in years. And her-

No. He couldn't think like that.

...

The two were in the kitchen, making oatmeal.

"Why didn't the bike cross the road?" Jemma asked, eyes wide.

"Um, there was nobody to ride it?" Ellie answered.

"Guess again."

"It had a flat tire?"

"Close!"

"It was too tire-d," Joel answered, rolling his eyes. Ellie laughed. "That's pretty good, but I have books full of a lot more. Want to see?"

"Sure."

Jemma faced Joel. She was wearing the dress from the night before, and it was slightly wrinkled. He noticed that she had a few freckles going up her arms, much like the way stars look in the sky.  
She was kind of glaring at him, but she wouldn't say anything.

Joel sat down at the table. It was dark cherry stained. Ellie had actually picked it out, only because it had four matching chairs. Joel didn't think they needed that many, but now he was beginning to reconsider.

"So, erm, when are ya due?"

Jemma went back to stirring the sludge. "About two weeks."

""Where's the father? Dead?"

He could see her stiffen and her head dropped a little. "I hope so."

"Sorry." He wanted to know more, but he wouldn't prod.

The three ate their oatmeal at the table, which had been recently cleaned by Jemma. Ellie told her jokes, much to the others dismay, but Joel didn't mind. He liked Ellie. He wanted to see her happy. Coming here was a fresh start for the both of them. They could settle down a live a normal life. But, he had to screw it up by bringing Jemma around. He hoped it wouldn't ruin the life he made for them.

Joel and Tommy went hunting for the day, and Ellie left for 'school,' so Jemma had the house to herself.

...

She wanted to clean the place up, and make it nice.

She started in the living room, which was decorated with comic books and maps of other areas. Jemma wondered how they would stand to live that way, with everything piled up like that. She figured they probably didn't spend that much time home, and Joel didn't particularly look like the cleaning type.

One map she found was of the Boston area. Jemma wondered if that's where they came from. Neither Ellie or Joel talked about their pasts much. The map was riddled with names and tallies, some of the names crossed out with red marker, others were circled around with green pen.

She flipped it over. It had two names written on the back, Joel and Tess. Jemma assumed Tess was his girlfriend, or something of the like. The names had tallies underneath, like they were keeping score for a game. Joel's tallies extended far past Tess', and was written in several different pens and pencils.

Slowly, she moved through the rest of the first floor. She folded all of the spare clothes in her room, and left them in the hallway. She found a few hangers in the closet, and hung some of her clothes on them. She still had a bed made of cushions, but she'd figure something out eventually.

Jemma cleaned the walls and floors with some old vinegar and baking soda she found under the kitchen sink. She was amazed at how much dirt was all over the house. Even though she was used to gray carpet and peeling wallpaper, it still was unbelievable how filthy it was. Natural light tended to conceal grime. With the electricity coming from the power plant, the harsh fluorescent light hid very little.

The sun was becoming low in the sky when she finished with the first floor. It didn't resemble the house she had began with. She hoped that she could make Joel and Ellie happy. She wanted so desperately to please them, to pay them back for the generosity they had given her. Jemma was so tired, though, to the point where she could barely keep her eyes open.

She laid down in her room for a while. Ellie came home about an hour later.

...

"Holy shit, did you do this?" She could hear from the hall.

Ellie walked into Her room. Jemma didn't bother with getting up, she ached just from the thought of sitting, alone.

"I didn't want my shoes to get dirty," she joked.

Ellie sat on the floor beside her. "Thanks. I like it."

Jemma turned to her. "You're welcome, Ell. What'd you do today?"

"Boring shit. I don't get why I have to learn math when I'm worried about making it to the next day. It's fucking stupid."

The two talked for a while, sharing some laughs before Joel came home. Ellie ran off to heat up some leftovers, and Joel replaced her seat.

He sighed. "You know, you didn't have to do this. All of this. In your condition-"

"God, you make it sound like I have a disease."

"Don't feel and obligation to us. I don't expect nothing from ya."

Jemma put a hand over her eyes. "Okay. Just help me up."

Over dinner, Ellie talked excitedly about the prospect of sailing the seas. Both Jemma and Joel were silent throughout the whole dinner. She didn't notice. Ellie talked about books she had read, and photographs she had seen, and the theory that small islands might be free of infection.

As soon as they finished, Jemma started cleaning the dishes. Joel sat at the table and read a book.

"What're you reading?"

"Mmm."

"Sounds great."

Ellie dried the remaining dishes while Jemma drained the sink.

"Ellie, what are you doing tomorrow? I want to..." Jemma trailed off.

"What?"

Jemma groaned. "Hang on." She leaned her back against the refrigerator.

Joel looked up from his book. "Hey, what's going on?"

"I think, um, I think," she groaned again, holding her oversized belly. She slid down to the floor.

"I think I'm okay, I just, I just need to stay here for a second."

"Ellie, go get Maria." Joel said, gesturing to the door.

"Joel. It's fine, I'm going to be fine."

"Like hell you are."

"It's doesn't really hurt. I'm just freaking out because I might have my baby in a goddamned kitchen, you know what I mean?" She gave him a small smile.

"Okay."

"Can I hold your hand?"

"Yeah."

Joel listened to the sound of her jagged breaths as she had a death grip on his hand. His heart was beating so fast; he didn't know what to do. Her cheeks were flushed, and he was starting to worry more and more as each minute passed.

Finally, he heard Ellie yelling.

"Joel, we're here!"

"In the kitchen!" Jemma was holding out, but he was beginning to question himself.

"You know, Joel, it's getting late, and-" Maria stopped. "Oh, shit."

**if you got this far, thanks for reading! Please leave a review or something, I'd love to hear your opinion, good or bad! :)**


	3. There Was No Choice

**Kind of a quick upload, some people sent me messages saying they didn't like the cliffhanger. Well, too bad. It's what I live for, haha. Hope you like this chapter! Leave me a review if you'd like, and thanks for making it this far!**

Maria saw Joel and the new girl on the ground together. She was clutching her stomach, and her face was contorted in pain. His face was white like a ghost.

She kneeled on the kitchen floor next to the two of them. "Has your water broken yet?"

Jemma let go of Joel's hand. "No, I think I'm fine, I'm just freaking out, I'm great, it doesn't hurt that much, it's fine."

She looked at Maria. "I'm just so scared, I don't know what to do."

Joel stood up. "What do you need me to do?"

"Uh, let's get her to a bed. Can you stand up?"

She slowly got to her feet, with Joel's help. Maria stood at a distance.

Who could she fool? Maria didn't know one thing about having a baby, aside from what she saw on movies. If the new girl was having her baby right then, how was she going to be able to help her out? She knew where the baby came from, and that was it. Tell her to push and see what happens.

Jemma hobbled to her room, and was about to lay down on the cushions, but Maria stopped her.

"Don't you have a bed? Never mind that, let's go to Ellie's room."

Ellie stood at a distance. She was both excited and frightened at what was going on. Jemma was the first pregnant woman she had met in her life.

Ellie had read that pregnancy was some wonderful gift to humanity or whatever. The ultimate purpose of the woman was to give birth to offspring. She had hoped for more in her life, but couldn't think of anything better to do with it. She was having second thoughts as she saw the three others climb the stairs.

Ellie wished she had cleaned her room as Jemma laid on her bed. There were so many books and papers laying around. She knew they wouldn't notice, but she still felt some sort of embarrassment.

Jemma gasped. "Oh, my God."

"What?!" Maria asked, frantic.

"It stopped. The pain. Everything. Is that normal?"

The room was silent for a few seconds.

"I think," Joel said, "it's called false labor. I'm not sure, but I think it's normal."

Maria sat down on the bed. "Yeah, I think you should take it easy. No matter what."

Jemma closed her eyes. Ellie could see a faint sheen of sweat on her face.

"I was kind if hoping I could get this done and over with tonight. That would have been nice." Jemma sounded disappointed.

"You ain't out of the woods, yet." Joel added. He relaxed his shoulders, and some color returned to his face. He paced the room slowly while the others talked.

Ellie was fascinated. "What did it feel like? Someone was punching you in the gut or what?"

"Like, my body was tightening around itself," she made a motion with her hands. "Trying to push it out for me. Sort of like when you've got to puke."

...

Maria stayed for another hour, just make to make sure she didn't go back into labor, false or not. Jemma had returned to a normal state, and that worried Maria. Was something wrong with her baby? Was something wrong with Jemma? She felt confident that she could make it through the night without pushing out the kid.

"I will make sure to get you a real bed tomorrow," Maria said as she walked out of the room. "Someone's got to have an extra somewhere."

Joel and Maria talked in hushed tones downstairs while Jemma and Ellie stayed in her room.

"Ellie, you can share the bed with me tonight. I feel like I'm invading your space by staying up here."

Ellie shook her head. "It's no big deal, I can sleep on the couch or something."

"No, stay with me. I'm going to be lonely if I stay here by myself. Please."

"Okay."

Ellie got into the bed with her. Jemma's long hair was fanned out all over the bed, like a mermaid. Ellie wondered if mermaids were real. So she asked.

"Jemma, do you think mermaids are real?"

She turned to Ellie. "Not really. I think, well, they could be, but I've never seen enough evidence to prove they are. Mermaids might have been real at one point, but I don't think they exist anymore. That's why we have the infected."

"Yeah, makes sense. But, do you think Atlantis is real?"

"That place underwater?"

Ellie nodded.

"Actually, I do think Atlantis was an island at one point. I don't think it was full of magic or anything, but I do believe that the ocean swept over it and it was gone in a day. It's possible." Jemma sighed, and closed her eyes.

"You really think so? I never really believed it or anything, I just thought it was a cool idea," Ellie said. "Like, fairies and goblins."

Jemma stayed quiet.

"Do you think you're gonna stay with us?" Ellie asked. "After you have your baby?"

She opened her eyes. "I don't know about anything. I'll wait to see how everything pans out. Maybe someone will hate me here and I won't have to worry about being a burden anymore."

They laid in silence for a few minutes.

"I like you, Ellie, and if you want me to stay, I will." Jemma looked over at her. Ellie was asleep.

...

Joel tried to remember what is was like when his wife was pregnant. Claire had an easy pregnancy, or so he thought. But, then again, she had access to as many doctors as she wanted. She had all the drugs she could want for pain. She didn't have to worry about monsters coming to get her while she slept.

Claire was kind of a bitch. Beautiful, but a bitch. Joel wasn't in love, he could admit that much. They met in high school, and were together for junior and senior year. Joel was on the football team and Claire was a cheerleader. The relationship was so clichéd it was sick. They stayed together for appearances, mostly.

Claire got pregnant two months before graduation. Joel wasn't even sure if it was his, but he wasn't going to question it then. When Claire came to him, with tears in her eyes, he knew he had to do something about it.

The marriage was hasty, and strained. Everyone knew what happened, and the smiles at the reception were just a façade. Joel didn't want to marry Claire. He wanted to go to school and become a singer, or something. He had to put all of that aside to take care of a family. He got a job with a construction company. They hired him on the fact that he could carry twice his weight up four flights of stairs.

Claire stayed at home and bought useless shit on QVC. Every night, they laid in the same bed and didn't talk. Joel barely touched her at all those nine months. Not that Claire would let him, anyway.

Joel was at work when Claire went into labor. He drove over an hour to the hospital, and by the time he was there, Claire was put under and the doctors were performing a Caesarian. He was the first to hold their child. A girl, they decided on the name Sarah.

He fell in love with her. His baby girl.

Joel went to work the next morning. And the next few months. When he would come home those nights, Sarah could be crying and Claire was passed out, drunk. He tried to talk some sense into Claire, but she wouldn't listen. She didn't want to have to be a mother. She wanted to have fun and go to parties.

Eventually, Claire left. Joel knew she had been cheating on him. Sarah wasn't even a year old yet. Joel had to work less hours so he could take care of her. He hired a babysitter when he could, but eventually it all became too much.

Joel took a year off of work so he could take care of Sarah. He moved back in with his parents. And for a while, everything was great.

Sarah had just turned three. Joel started working again, and they had moved into an apartment near Austin. Tommy called him at three in the morning.

"Mom and dad are dead."

A car accident. A drunk driver had been going down the wrong side of the road. He hit them, and their car rolled seven times. The other driver hadn't damaged his car very much, and he drove away. His father died instantly, they said. His mother lived for a few hours, but while she was going through a CAT scan, her heart stopped beating.

Tommy was only fourteen. He moved in with Joel and Sarah. Their parents house was heavily mortgaged, so they ended up selling almost everything just to pay those bills. The next few years were really hard on Joel. He was trying to hold down a full time job and raise two kids, one of whom was practically half his age.

He fell asleep thinking of the past.

...

Joel woke up to the sound of someone playing the guitar. His guitar. It was coming from downstairs. He also hear Ellie talking, then loud laughter from the two girls.

He slowly walked down the stairs.

Then, singing:

"But don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart, I just don't think he'd understand-" Laughter. "And if you tell my heart, my achy breaky heart, he might blow up and kill this man!"

Joel walked into the kitchen to see Jemma standing on the bar, and Ellie cheering her on from the kitchen table. Jemma had his guitar slung over her shoulder, and was playing out the song. He could admit, she was pretty good, but not as good as him.

"What the hell are you two doing?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Shit," Jemma turned around. "We were just, um, having a bit of fun."

Joel walked to the counter. "Here, I'll help ya out." She handed them the guitar, then sat down on the bar. She slid off, slowly.

"I'm going, see you guys tomorrow," Ellie said as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Don't forget a jacket."

They heard the sound of the hall closet slamming open. "Yeah, yeah."

Jemma patted her belly. She was wearing black pants and an oversized sweater. She pulled her long hair into a ponytail. She smelled like coffee.

"Have you been drinking coffee?" Joel asked. The smell made his mouth water.

She smiled. "I saved a cup for you."

It was instant coffee, but it sure as hell was better than nothing. They sat on the window seat in the living room. The sun was coming through, and it warmed the seat.

Joel laid back on the wall.

"You know," Jemma started. "There was no choice."

"For what?"

"My baby. I- I didn't make the choice to have it."

"What are you saying?"

"When I was going through Nevada, a group of hunters abducted me. A little over a year ago. I was twenty-three.

"At first, I was their bitch. I was the only female they had. They made me clean, cook, stuff like that. Soon after, though, they started to rape me. Multiple men, multiple times a day. It was torture. If that wasn't enough, they started beating me, too. Tied me up all day and night.

"I don't know. Three months in, I realized I was pregnant. Not like those bastards would know, anyway. Their penises ruled their lives, not their brain. That continued for a couple of months. I grew numb to it. The raping, the beatings, everything. It became routine.

"I started getting sick. After the second day, they knew what was going on. They treated me like shit.

"They let me go, with all of my stuff. They gave me a gun with one bullet, and sent me on my way. I'm surprised I lived even one week."

Joel cleared his throat. "You didn't have to tell me that."

"I know. I was hoping that if I shared my life with you, you would trust me more." She she looked out the window. "And tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know, exactly?" He was hesitant to share, but he didn't think she'd bring any trouble.

"Nothing, really," she mumbled, and got up from the seat.

He heard her walk into her room, and close the door. She didn't lock it. Joel finished his cup of coffee and sat in silence.

...

She was sitting on one of the cushions, reading Dracula. Jemma didn't find the idea of a vampire to be scary in the least. The most frightening thing about the story was how Dracula personally stalked Mina until he found her.

She heard Joel open the door. She briefly turned to him, then continued reading. "I know Ellie's not your daughter."

"That's none of your business."

Jemma closed the book. "She told me already. She told me a lot. You don't need to keep secrets from me." Sure, she was lying, but she wanted to know what he was up to. Joel barely said anything to her, and she wanted to get that asshole talking.

"Let's take a walk." he said, and left to get his jacket.

Jemma walked slightly ahead of Joel. He watched her, and noticed that she didn't really walk, she more or less waddled. Her breath turned white in the air. "This is my favorite time of year, you know? The air, it feels great. The leaves, they're beautiful. It's fantastic. And I love wearing scarves."

"Mmm."

She sighed. "Great response."

He grabbed her arm. "Look, I don't know what the hell you want from me. I don't know why I decided to help you out. I don't really want to be your friend, okay? Let's call ourselves business partners an-"

She pulled her arm away from him. "Business partners?! Business partners? What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Is this," she waved her hands in the air, motioning to the both of them. "Some sort of business to you?"

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I was-"

"Ugh, screw you," she mumbled, and walked away from him.

Joel walked after her. "Hey, just let me explain. I don't want you thinkin' that. I didn't mean anything by it."

They walked further and further away from the town.

"Leave me alone!" She yelled, picking up to a slow run.

Joel didn't speed up, he watched her struggle uphill. Jemma tripped over an exposed tree root and fell forward. He chuckled to himself. Women and their mood swings. She was so dramatic.

"Are you laughing at me, asshole?" She struggled to get back up. "I want to punch you! You're such a douchebag!" Jemma turned her head and saw him approaching her. She tried crawling up the hill, anything she could to put some distance between the two of them.

"Jemma, stop. You're overreacting. Settle down."

"Is that some kind of business tactic?" She made it up the hill and was trotting away from him. Her hair was falling out of the ponytail. Joel watched it bounce with every movement she made.

"Get away from me!"

"Or what?"

"I'll scream!" She started screaming.

"Shut the hell up!" He yelled, and started running after her. Even though she waddled, she moved quite fast.

Jemma kept screaming, and it echoed in the air.

"Stop screaming, you dumbass, you'll attract them!" He could feel his age catching up with him.

She slowed down, and stopped screaming. She was breathing hard, and stopped moving altogether. She turned around and pointed her finger at Joel. "I've forgiven you, but you're still an asshole."

"But you made a big deal out of nothing."

Jemma started laughing. Like a maniac. "I don't even know why! I was angry out of nowhere! It just hit me, like a truck." She leaned against a tree.

Joel stood in front of her. "You really are such an idiot. I can't believe you."

She was still laughing. "I'm sorry, but it's all business, right? So, fire me."

He shook his head.

"Fire me." She moved in closer to him.

"No."

Jemma moved in even closer, and Joel could feel the warmth from her belly. "Do it."

Joel backed up. "I can't."

"Fire me, Joel. Go ahead, you know you want to end this."

Joel moved behind her and pressed himself against the tree. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"Fire me, asshole, you don't even want me around you and that fucking town!"

"I think we need to go home. You're acting weird."

Jemma stepped towards him, and Joel instinctively grabbed her neck. He could see the fear in her wide eyes. He didn't let go quickly, he kept his grip on her neck while he let all of his emotions set in. She stiffened and didn't move at all.

"Holy shit," he said, and let go of her neck.

The sound of a snapping branch came from the right, and Joel and Jemma put everything personal behind them. They heard the distinct call of a clicker, and the two started running down the hill.


	4. Sudsy

**For all of my faithful readers, thank you so much! This story would be nothing without y'all! I hope you like this chapter, just let me know what you think! Thanks for getting this far! :)**

Joel knew what would be waiting in the woods.

Yet he didn't bring a single knife with him. Even if there was a chance that nothing would happen, Jemma had to go and fuck it all up. He couldn't blame her, he didn't know what it was like to have all of those hormones running through him, but he couldn't imagine it'd be that pleasant.

Joel let Jemma run in front of him. He watched behind them, and saw a few Clickers at the top of the hill. He sped up a bit, and lightly pushed her from behind. The air burned his lungs. He could feel himself getting tired.

"I'll check out this ahead," he said, as they reached a corner back to the settlement. "Wait close to the trees, and stay quiet."

Joel ran down the trail, and right as he turned the corner the rise, he slammed into someone. As he regained his balance, he saw it was Tommy and another man.

"Joel, what the hell is going on? We heard screamin' and yellin'."

He raised a finger to his lips. Joel mouthed the word 'clickers,' and they all stood flush to the side of the rise. He could hear Jemma's ragged breaths.

Tommy moved slowly around the corner of the rise to where Jemma stood. She covered her mouth and nose with her hands as the Clickers approached.

Their clothes were worn thin, and were held together by mere threads. They had no shoes, and they smelled awful. The fungal growth coming out of their skulls were disturbing beautiful. They were bright red and coral colors, and if Jemma hadn't known any better, she would have wanted to reach out and touch one. Every time they clicked their mouths, she became more and more scared.

Tommy walked slowly behind one of the clickers and stabbed at the base of its skull. It didn't screech, and he was able to kill the next closest one. The other man shot the last of the three, and the group eased up.

"Why was she screaming?" Tommy asked, looking a mix of annoyance and worry.

Joel rolled his eyes. "I have no clue. She was freaking out over nothing, you know how it is. She thought it was a game or somethin'. Women."

The three men laughed.

"Joel, let's get going. I've got things to do. An' everyone back home is wondering what's going on." Tommy said, and started walking back towards town.

"Okay. Jemma, c'mon." Joel turned to where he thought she was. Jemma was gone.

He turned around to see if she was standing on the other side of the trail. She wasn't anywhere.

"Hey, where are you?!" He shouted.

"Joel, where is she?" Tommy asked, his voice riddled with disgust.

"Like hell if I know."

Joel ran through the trees where she had been. Dumb girl, he thought. She was gonna get herself killed doing shit like that.

Jemma came stumbling from behind a boulder. Her shirt and hair were covered in blood. When she saw his look, she said "Not mine."

She walked past him and the others, trying to get back to town as soon as possible. The three men were quiet as they walked back. Joel wouldn't ask her what happened back on the hill. He was pretty certain she hadn't killed anyone in her life, or seen much death.

When he got back home, he heard the shower going. Joel went into the living room. The wood burning stove was going, and as he got closer, he saw that Jemma had stuffed her clothes in it. He pulled up one of the leather chairs in front of the stove, and fell asleep.

...

"Hey, get up. Maria's here," Ellie whispered in his ear. The clothes and wood were reduced to ash. He wondered how long he had been asleep.

Maria was sitting at the kitchen table, tea in hand. She had a small smile on her face. It was like the Mona Lisa smile. The smile that said it all, yet held thousands of secrets behind the lips.

"What's up?" Joel asked, taking a seat across from her.

"Did Jemma tell you what happened?"

"No, what?"

"She killed an infected."

"I figured as much."

Maria set down her tea. "It was a child. Probably seven, maybe eight."

Joel looked away. "Mmm, okay."

"She's not doing well. I think she had a hard time with it. You know, having to kill one so young."

"And it was her first kill, of course." He added.

"I don't think so," she mused. "You can see it in her eyes. I'm thinking she's had to do some rough things in order to stay alive. Haven't we all? She wouldn't talk about it. I think she needs some time."

Joel scoffed. "I don't see what the problem is."

"Becoming a mother, I think, changes the psyche of a woman. I wouldn't know, I'm just assuming. Anyway." Maria takes a drink. "We got her a bed. She's at our place right now. I wanted her to be with Tommy. He will make her feel okay. He always does. If I were you, I wouldn't bother her until she's ready to talk."

"I don't know why I brought her around." Joel said. "Something inside of me told me to do it. A compulsion. I felt the need to help her out. The way she held herself, she looked so scared and helpless."

Maria nodded.

"I don't know. I think Ellie likes her."

"Do you like her?"

"Doesn't matter."

"God, you're so much different than Tommy. He's so kind and happy. He does what he thinks is best, for everyone. And, he's so optimistic, and lighthearted. And you..."

Joel smiled. "I'm an asshole."

She laughed a bit. "I didn't want to say it."

"Wouldn't be the first time I heard it today."

...

Jemma volunteered herself to make bread. Tommy protested, but she insisted. She told him it'd be like no other bread he had had before. She said it calmed her. And Tommy didn't want to pass up some food, either.

Tommy watched as Jemma kneaded the dough. She handled it like it was nothing. She mixed the ingredients without even measuring them. Yet, when she was done, it looked perfect. When he watched her face, she was completely absorbed by the motion. Her eyes moved with her hands, in one fluidic motion.

"I haven't made bread in a long time," she confessed, and put the dough in a pan. "If it tastes terrible, just lie to me, anyway."

He laughed. "Yeah, yeah, okay, I'm sure it will be fine. Anything is better than Maria's cookin'."

"I don't believe you."

"Well," Tommy hesitated. "I'd almost rather be eating those infected out there."

They laughed together, his guttural and her much like

Like home, Tommy thought. Jemma felt like home. Like a warm hug on a rainy day. Like pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. He wanted to envelope himself in her aura. He made him feel comfortable, like he never had to worry about anything around her.

"What are you staring at?" She asked, her voice almost mocking.

"Nothin'."

They watched an old movie while the bread baked. It was called Robo Cop, and they both laughed the whole time.

"This is so cheesy," she said, and covered her eyes. "I can't believe it." She laughed. "The Terminator is so much better than this!"

"You've seen The Terminator?" He asked in disbelief.

"Of course, my dad had it in his collection. I didn't much like that one, either. So you must know where Robo Cop stands with me."

Tommy smiled. "Very high, right next to Starship Troopers."

She drew her knees to her stomach. "Where did you find all of these, anyway?"

"In there," he said, and pointed to the hall closet.

Jemma walked over and opened the door. It was full of movies, mostly tapes, though. "I found it!" She yelled.

"What?"

"Porn Wars, The Big Black One, Bikini Chain Gang, and, my favorite, The XXX Files."

"We have those? Where?"

"Oh," she smiled coyly. "Don't get too excited. I'm just messing with you."

"Damn it, I got my hopes up for nothin'."

She walked over, hands behind her back. "But, I did find this," she said, and handed it over to him.

"Oh, Shower Scene?" He turned it over in his hands. "You know me too well!"

Shower Scene was an 80's soft core porn movie. The cover was filled with pictures of Asian males covered in suds. Their mouths were open like they were going to eat a hot dog. All of them were wearing the same neon purple bikini bottom. The hairstyles ranged from mullets to Afros, and Tommy chuckled quietly as he remembered the past.

"100's of hot shots," he laughed. "Over fifty scenes too sudsy to make it television!" He gave it back to Jemma.

"Oh, let's give it to Joel. I think he would love this as a Christmas present!" She held it to her chest.

Tommy immediately became serious. "Don't. He can't take a joke like this. Joel... Isn't that funny."

"Are you telling me that he's so hard up that he can't handle a fucking gay Skinemax movie?"

Ellie walked into the room? "What's Skinemax?"

They looked at each other. "Well," Jemma started. "Movies with a lot of sex."

"And little to no plot," Tommy added.

"Little to no clothing-"

"Lots of suds-"

They dissolved into laughter. Ellie turned bright red.

"Jemma, we need to go home," she said, and went for the door.

Jemma sighed. "Enjoy your bread."

"Keep the movie," he answered, and handed it to her.

She tucked it into one of the large pockets of her jacket. She smiled to herself as she and Ellie headed home.

...

The house was eerily silent when the two got home.

"Joel's gone," Ellie explained. "Going hunting with some of the guys. We're trying to get as much food as much as we can before winter comes."

"When's he coming back?" She asked absently.

"Um, like a week. Whatever happens..."

She shrugged her jacket off. Jemma hated the way her oversized belly looked. She felt like it took up the whole room. When she walked she felt she was going to fall over at any moment.

"Ellie, you want to do something tonight?"

Jemma headed upstairs when she didn't hear anything. She found Ellie in her bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror. Her hair was pulled out of its usual ponytail, and it changed the way she looked completely.

"Hey, what's up?" Jemma asked, leaning against the door jamb.

Ellie jumped. "Oh, shit, you scared me!" She laughed nervously. "I was just trying to do something different. "

"With your hair?"

"Yeah, it's all wrong." Ellie motioned towards her face. "I'm sick of it."

Jemma walked over to Ellie and looked at her through the mirror.

"Maybe you could braid it."

Ellie snorted. "I don't have the patience for that."

"Well," Jemma picked up a lock of Ellie's hair. "You can pin this back and you'd look like this." She pushed against the lock of hair to give it volume. "I do this sometimes. It's easy and it looks good."

"I'm not trying to look like you. I'm trying to be myself, okay?" Ellie pushed Jemma's hands away.

Ellie walked towards the bathroom window. She pulled her hair back into the ponytail. "This works for me now."

Jemma could see black clouds forming on the horizon. "Looks like a storm is brewing tonight."

...

She and Ellie had cold soup for dinner. Jemma preferred it that way, and Ellie was too damn lazy to heat it up. They talked about dumb stuff, like boys and dresses. Jemma realized that Ellie wasn't truly the tomboy she looked like. She was raised to be utilitarian, and she fell into that groove with her habits, as well. Ellie wanted so desperately to dress up as a 'real woman' did, and leave her old self in the past.

Jemma convinced herself that she would make that possible for Ellie, in small steps.

"Ellie, can you go lock the horses up?" Jemma asked while she was washing dishes. The horses went nuts when they heard the thunder. Tommy told her so. Jemma wanted to make sure Ellie took care of it before they went to bed. She had unofficially been put in charge of the horses, since she loved being with them so much.

"Sure thing," Ellie said, and left the house.

But, on the way to the horses, Ellie found a coin sticking out of the ground. She picked it up and held it in the dim light. It was of a gold color, and it had the American seal on it. It was unlike anything she had seen. The back had a picture of a hill and sunrise, and it read Brasher. There were some other words, but Ellie didn't recognize the language.

She headed back to the house, forgetting why she was outside in the first place.

Jemma was already in bed, so Ellie dried the dishes and soon fell asleep in her own bed.

"Ellie."

Ellie could feel her body starting to wake.

"Ellie! Get up!"

She shot up in her bed, and saw Jemma standing next to her. "What's going on?" She asked, rubbing her shoulder. It was around four in the morning, she guessed.

"Did you lock up the horses?"

"Oh, fuck!" Ellie jumped out of bed, threw some shoes on, and ran outside. Jemma followed, but wasn't able to move as quickly.

The storm had moved in, and it was bad. The wind was blowing everything around, and lightning lit up the dark sky. The rain pelted their backs, and it felt like small rocks were hitting them. When they reached the horses, one had already gotten loose, and the others were following suit.

Jemma rounded them up in the stables, and Ellie followed behind her, locking each horse in.

"Let's hurry and find that other horse," Jemma yelled, but the wind was howling so loud Ellie could barely hear her.

Ellie ran towards the edge of the town, frantically searching. The wind kept changing directions, and as soon as she turned one direction to escape the rain in her eyes, it would start blowing in them again.

"Hey, I found it!" Jemma yelled, and starting running towards the lone horse. She slipped on some slick mud, and fell on her butt-hard. It knocked the wind out of her.

"You okay?!"

"Yeah," Jemma got to her feet. "I'm fine. Lets go."

They found the horses running in circles. When it saw Jemma, it reared, but Ellie came from behind her and the horse settled down a bit. They led it to the others, and Ellie locked it.

Jemma breathed a sigh of relief, and laughed out of sheer stress. "Holy shit, I'm going to kill you for that."

Ellie laughed, but as she turned to face her, she looked at Jemma's feet.

"Oh, my God, you're bleeding."

Jemma looked down at the ground to see a little pool of blood. It was staring to dilute from the rain, but the bright red could be nothing else.

All at once, she could feel her baby shift down inside of her. It was for real now. She felt a wave of nausea as the realization hit her. She was going to have this baby, tonight.

"Ellie, we need to hurry. Go get Maria."


	5. Married with Children

**In case anyone was wondering, these last chapters have been such a BITCH to write. I started writing this story right after this chapter takes place, and so I was somewhat unmotivated when I wrote all the story so far. I PROMISE IT GETS BETTER! Anyhow, just to clarify, I imagined the perspectives of Joel and Jemma/Tommy/Ellie to be somewhat simultaneous. I don't know. This was really rushed, but I am just excited to get the rest of the story out. So, just let me know if this chapter is really terrible. And I'll fix it for y'all. **

**Much thanks for reading! Love you all! **

When the two got to Tommy's house, they were both soaked to the bone. Ellie pounded on the door, but the wind was blowing so hard they probably couldn't hear it. Jemma shouted, but it was no use.

Ellie ran to the back door, and tried it. It was locked. She banged on that door, but there was no response. She noticed that one of the windows was unlocked, so she pushed it up enough to where she could crawl inside. She pulled off her soggy jacket and shoes, and yelled up the stairs.

"Hey! Tommy! We need help!" She could hear a loud thump, and she saw him coming down the stairs, holding a gun at her. "It's me!"

Ellie unlocked the front door for Jemma. She was shivering, and could barely walk.

Tommy met her at the door. "Is everything okay, why are you two here?"

She pushed past him to the bathroom, and slammed the door shut. Ellie and he could hear the sounds of her vomiting, and Ellie turned to him.

"Can we can get towels or something?"

Maria came downstairs. Her hair was messed up and her bedclothes were wrinkly, but she seemed somewhat alert. "It's really coming down," she said. "What's going on?" She saw Ellie. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, we were locking up the horses, and Jemma fell down and hurt herself."

"Hurt herself?" Tommy asked, stepping closer to Ellie. "How?"

"I don't know, she was bleeding and wanted to come here. We were close, so I didn't have time to ask."

Maria got Ellie a towel. It was tattered and faded, but so was everything else in the town. Ellie dried her hair. "She puking in the bathroom now. If you want to know, ask her."

Maria walked by herself to the bathroom. She knocked on the door, and Jemma let her in. Their conversation was inaudible, but Maria came out looking worried.

"Ellie, can you go upstairs and get some clothes for you and Jemma?"

As soon as she was out of ear shot, Maria turned to Tommy.

"Look, she's going to have that kid today. She was actually in labor before she ever fell down, but that made things go even faster."

Tommy sighed. He didn't want a baby to be born in his house, let alone a night like tonight.

"I don't even know how to help her. I'm not a doctor."

"It'll be fine," he said, and squeezed her arm.

...

The storm was raging, and the hunting group was just getting started. Joel and Samuel, a man in his mid thirties, were searching in a cave for some sort of shelter. They had set camp near the river earlier in the evening, but the rain and lightning forced them out.

The cave looked clear, so Sam called to the two down below. They were Robert and Chance, twin brothers, born right before the outbreak. The three other men weren't fantastic shots or had much experience in hunting, but all the men in the town took turns, and so Joel was forced to be with them.

He didn't actually mind. They were alright guys. They were kind of ignorant, though, and so Joel had a hard time holding a decent conversation with them. There was still a few hours left to sleep, so Joel laid his pack on the ground and tried to relax. The rock floor under him was freezing cold, and he tried to get his mind on something else.

He thought about what he wanted to do with Ellie once spring came around. Joel thought about taking her hiking or something, anything to get away from the town for a few days. Then he remembered Jemma. He wondered if she would stay with them after her baby was born. In one turn, he wanted her to stay, to help around the house, and liven things up. At the other, he didn't want her to stay because she was too much to handle for him. She was pretty weird and he wasn't sure how to deal with that.

Joel must have fallen asleep to those thoughts, because he woke up, and he felt like he hadn't skipped a second. He could hear the other men joking around while they made breakfast.

"Now, that's a mother I'd like to fuck."

"Did you see her ass? So fine."

Joel sat up and looked at them.

"Good morning, old man," said Chance.

"So," started Sam. "About that girl living with you guys..."

"Jemma's her name. What about her?"

Sam continued. "Is she single? I'm interested in getting to know her."

"Getting to know the inside of her," laughed Robert.

"Shut up, dumbass. I'm a grown man, she's a grown woman, and we can take things to the next level later."

"I just don't think she's your type." Joel said, surprised that he was defending her at all.

Robert scoffed. "Hang on. Are you fucking her already? Or have you got plans for her? She is a little young for you, but, hey, whatever floats your boat."

Joel rolled his eyes and got up. He passed on breakfast. Those idiots made him sick to his stomach.

The group headed down the river, waiting for something to show. Nothing did. Minutes turned into hours. Joel was beginning to lose hope. The most they saw was a skinny squirrel, and that wouldn't even feed one person.

The rain was fucking everything up. He was freezing cold, and wanted to go home. They were starting to hear lightning, and it was around noon.

"Do you think we should turn back?" Robert asked, looking at Joel.

"We better. Rather go vegetarian than kill myself over a damn deer."

...

Tommy and Ellie were watching old television shows upstairs while Maria and Jemma were downstairs. Tommy wanted to hide everything from Ellie, but at the same time wanted to involve her in the birth.

When he tried to go into the room downstairs, Maria quickly pushed him out. Jemma was having trouble, she said, and should really be left alone. He heard her crying and saw blood staining some towels on the floor. He couldn't remember what went into a birth, anyway, so he assumed it was all normal. Tommy turned Married with Children on for Ellie. Even though the volume was turned up loud, he could still hear Jemma now and then.

The storm was picking up again, and Tommy could feel the tension rise in the house. With every hour that passed and Jemma still hadn't delivered, he could feel himself getting more and more worried. He was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to happen that way.

Ellie had fallen asleep on the couch next to him. He guess she wasn't that interested in 90's sitcoms.

He heard a scream from downstairs.

"Hey, Tommy, come here!"

He ran down the stairs. Maria had blood on her hands.

"It's coming, feet first. She's lost plenty of blood, but she's not unconscious. Oh, Tommy, I don't know what I'm going to do." Her voice caught in her throat. "She's in so much pain and there's nothing I can do to help her."

He stood in the hallway while Maria went back with Jemma.

Her screams sent chills down his spine.

"Make it stop!" She wailed. "This is wrong, it has to be wrong, kill me or something, I can't handle this anymore!"

"Just push," Maria said. "It will be over soon."

A few wails later, and the room went quiet.

"Can you cut that?" Jemma asked.

"Oh, my God," Maria whispered.

He heard something drop on the floor, and a blood curdling scream from Jemma.

"What the fuck is that?!"

Tommy turned into the room to see Jemma stomping on the baby's skull. The dress she was wearing was streaked with blood, and it looked like a scene from a horror movie. "What in God's name are you doing?!" Tommy yelled, and pushed her against the wall.

He looked at the remains of the baby on the floor. Something was coming out of its skull. It looked like-

It couldn't be, he thought to himself.

It could. Anything was possible.

Tommy saw what he thought was fungus coming from the baby's skull.

...

The rain was starting to get pretty bad again. The four men jogged along the way they had come, all the while searching for infected.

At that speed, the could easily make it to town in a couple of hours. Had nothing gone wrong, of course.

Joel looked back to the south, where the clouds were coming from. He saw black clouds heading their way. He knew immediately that they wouldn't be able to make it before that cell hit them. As he began to turn to head back to their course, he saw a flash of lightning.

"Hey, over there!" Yelled Sam.

Three deer were hiding under a large tree. Its thick branches covered them from the rain. They were unaware that the group was looking at them.

"Should we shoot 'em?" One asked.

"No. Lets get closer," Joel whispered, and pulled out his bow.

The four moved in on the deer. Joel signaled for them to stop, and he raised his bow. He knocked an arrow, and aimed for the deer in the middle. Chance got the one on the right, and Robert aimed for the other.

"On three,"

The two nodded.

"One," A boom of thunder.

"Two," he blinked rain out of his eyes.

"Three," and he let go.

Two of the deer fell to the ground immediately. The third limped around, and Sam shot it down with his rifle.

Chance cheered. "Whoo! Fuck yeah!"

Joel even smiled a bit to himself. He was glad that they managed to do something, even if they were some small deer.

It took them longer to get back than anticipated. The storm did catch up with them, and they had to run the last stretch of road. Joel carried the deer he killed on his back, and he could feel a trickle of its blood running down his arm.

When they got to town, a strange feeling fell over Joel. His heart started to race, and he became jittery. He thought it was just because he was so fucking cold. He dropped the deer off with the others, and headed home.

He still couldn't shake that feeling, though. As Joel entered the house, he knew right away that something was wrong. He went to the neighbor's house.

After the third knock, she came to the door.

"Do you know happened to the girls?" Joel tried to sound normal, but he could hear the concern in his voice.

"Didn't you hear?" She asked through the screen. Joel could only see her outline. "Jemma killed her baby."


	6. Fall Chills

**Okay, so I lied. Here is another chapter, but this one is the last of the 'eh' chapters, I promise! I wrote this as filler mostly, but read on, please! Thanks for making it this far, I mean it! Also, review it if you have the time! Good or bad, I definitely want to hear it! Expect another update on Saturday! :)**

"Go home, Joel. She ain't gonna talk to you." Tommy wouldn't open the door for him. Joel was extremely upset, and he wouldn't leave.

Ellie wouldn't come out of the house. If Joel didn't know any better, he'd think they were all in some kind of quarantine. All the doors and windows were locked, and the curtains were drawn. I kept raining, though, so he eventually gave up and went back home.

Joel waited until dinner for Ellie to come home. She never did. He waited in the living room for her to come home for bed, but she didn't. He slept alone in his bed, all night in an empty house.

...

Jemma still hadn't come home after three days. Rumors circulated around town, so he headed back to his brother's house.

Tommy was sitting on the front porch when he walked up.

"You need to talk to her, Joel," he said, and stood up. "She won't come out of her room. She won't eat or anything."

He led Joel to the downstairs bedroom, and left him alone in the hallway. Joel very hesitantly opened the door.

The curtains were closed tight, and no lights were on. It smelled like stale bread in the room. Joel flipped on the light.

The sheets had blood on them, and he felt himself get a little sick at the sight of it. She was turned away from him, but he could see that her hair looked greasy. Even the feeling in the room was wrong. Joel felt extremely uneasy in there, and he felt the urge to leave.

He sat down on the lone chair in the room. It was old and wooden, and its green paint was cracking and flaking off. Joel didn't say a word. He counted the stains on the ceiling, anything to keep from looking at the bed.

He wondered what was wrong with her to make her go to such an extreme. He knew that she was weird, but he didn't think she was crazy! Maybe there was something wrong with her baby. That was probably it, he thought. She didn't actually kill her baby, right? Something was wrong with it from the start. That made him feel better.

She turned to him. Jemma looked horrible. Her skin was so pale to looked almost translucent. She had dark circles under her eyes. Her demeanor was just terrible. But Joel didn't expect much from her. Not after what she had been through.

"Are you really just going to come here and not say anything? Or did you really want to look at the ceiling?" Her voice sounded like rocks going down a gravel chute.

Joel cleared his throat. "I-I think it's time for you to come home. It's not healthy for you to lay here. Besides, Ellie misses you."

"I should come home." She sighed. "I just wanted to sleep."

They stayed silent for a few minutes, and Joel left.

Tommy stopped him on the way out of the door. "I need to talk to ya."

Joel nodded. "Let's go to my house."

Tommy walked close. "The night that storm rolled in, I could feel it. Something bad was going to happen. I just didn't know what. I kept thinking about it all night, right until I fell asleep.

"Ellie crawled through the window because we couldn't hear her knocking on the door. She feeling out. She was so wet, and it was freezing outside, and I just knew that was it. That was what was going to happen.

"And when I saw Jemma, I swear to God my heart stopped beating. She looked sick, and she was bleeding, and, I didn't know what to do.

"Maria stayed with her all day, trying to help her. Jemma had woken up, and I guess that's when it started, but she fell down on her way here. That complicated things. And-"

They passed someone, and Joel smiled at him.

"And she was crying and screaming. We don't have any painkillers for her, and I can't imagine hat she was going through. It was so goddamn awful to me to sit there and let her suffer like that. Ellie was helpless. She felt awful because she wanted to help her out, but didn't know how.

"A few hours before you got back, she had her baby. Joel, you should have seen it."

He turned to Tommy. "What?"

"That baby was infected when it was born. The fungus was growing out of its skull."

Joel stopped. "Are you really telling me that she gave birth to a fucking monster?"

Tommy folded his arms over his chest. "You don't believe me?"

"Not really."

"Joel, that thing was not a human anymore. It's no wonder why she wanted to kill it. I'm amazing that she could, honestly."

"How could she not?"

"I'm not sure I would have been able to kill my own baby so easily."

Joel scoffed. "What else could you have done? Coddled it and keep it on a leash, hoping it didn't try to eat you during the night?"

"Don't be such an asshole. It was... I didn't know what to do. I don't see how it was possible for that to happen."

They got to Joel's house. "I don't really want to know," Joel said, and opened the door.

"What are you going to do?" Tommy asked, and walked inside.

"I'll have to think about it."

"You can't be a dick about it. It's not her fault."

Joel rolled his eyes. "You didn't even want her here at first."

Tommy sat down at the kitchen table. "She's a good person. I don't want to see her go. She's good for Ellie."

Joel ran himself a glass of water. He didn't want to see Jemma leave, either, but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was hiding something from them.

"Whatever," Joel said.

...

Jemma joined them for dinner that night. She ate more than Joel and Ellie, combined. Joel didn't say anything, though. He was glad to see her do something other than mope around in her bedroom.

When she started cleaning the dishes, Joel watched her from the corner of his eye. She wasn't as thin as the other women in town. He didn't think she was fat, but she was heavier than most. She looked healthy. She filled out her clothing well, and he couldn't stop looking at her. Her bones didn't jut out, and she looked soft and beautiful.

He groaned, and quickly started thinking about something else. He felt like a pedophile.

Ellie went to bed. She had to go to "school," and Joel made her go to bed at nine those nights. Ellie hated it, but she knew he was just trying to look out for her.

Jemma read in the living room. Joel sat next to her on the couch.

"Are you thinking about staying with us? I mean, permanently," Joel said.

She closed the book. "Do you want me to stay?"

"I'm giving the choice. I don't care, either way."

That hurt her feelings a little. She knew he wanted her to stay, but she wanted to hear him say it. She did want to stay, but at the same time, she felt like such a burden. She adored Ellie, though. She was like a little sister, and she wanted to be her mentor. Jemma felt safe here. She didn't have to keep one eye open while she slept. But, most of all, she was secretly relieved that she didn't have to take care of some baby.

Losing her child made her so sad, in a way. She carried it for so long, and then to have it taken away...

"Joel, I want to stay with you guys."

"Okay."

"But, I really need to go to sleep."

"Mmm."

...

A few days later, Ellie woke up freezing. Her teeth were chattering, and she was curled up into a ball. When she tried getting out of bed, she could barely move her fingers and toes because she was so cold.

She decided to say something over breakfast.

"Is it just me, or is it fucking cold in this house?"

Jemma stared into her food as though she hadn't heard her.

"I'm not cold," Joel said. "Are you cold?" He looked at Jemma. She nodded, slightly.

It was quiet a few seconds, then he said "Well, there's some houses a few miles west that haven't been completely ransacked. Jemma and I can go check them out today and see if we find some blankets."

Ellie groaned. "Can't I come, too?"

"You have 'school,'" Joel said. "So, no."

"Why not?" She whined. "It's not like I will even learn anything useful."

Jemma answered, "You know, World History is very relevant to today's society. You never know when you might need it."

Ellie snorted. "Sure. I'm just as likely to use algebra as I am knowing that Ancient Egypt was in the desert. Who actually cares about that stuff, anymore?"

"You never know," Joel muttered, and ended the conversation.

...

Jemma didn't want to go with Joel. She'd rather stay at home and sleep. Not pick through someone belongings, hoping to find some useful shit she would most likely never use.

She straggled behind him, waiting to see the houses he was talking about. It wasn't looking too good. She could see her breath in front of her, and she tried to warm her hands by rubbing them together.

Of course, Joel didn't notice that she was progressive getting farther and farther behind him. Either that, or he didn't care. If anything he moved faster, and Jemma stopped completely.

"Hey, dickhead. Can we stop for, like, five minutes, please?" She tried to not sound too desperate, but she failed. Even the sound of her own voice annoyed her.

"It's right there," he pointed ahead of them, and she saw three wood cabins. Two of them were small, and the other was huge, and right in the middle of them.

They went into the two smallest ones first. Jemma had found some clothes for Ellie, but the blankets and sheets were moldy and holey. She had read most of the books they had, but she snagged a few copies of National Geographic for herself. Joel picked up a set of kitchen knives, and some movies he had seen when he was younger.

"What're they called?" She asked, trying to seeing them, but Joel turned away from her.

"Nothing you've ever heard of," he said. "It was before your time."

"Just tell me."

"Okay. I have Transformers, the first one. And then I have the whole Indiana Jones series. Do you feel any better now?"

She made a face. "I've already seen those. I'm not as ignorant as you think I am."

Joel rolled his eyes. "Let's just get to the other house."


	7. Bruce

**Thanks to all of my diligent readers! Thank you all so very, very much! A note to the rude people who send me messages: 1. This story isn't supposed to be full of killing and whatnot. Do you honestly think that Joel runs around everyday, killing everything in sight?! 2. I don't want an ElliexJoel pairing, because that's just kind of weird, in my opinion. **

**Anyway, leave me a comment or message, just letting me know what you think! :) I appreciate all of you! **

The cabin had huge windows facing the north side of the mountain. Joel looked out at the landscape. The leaves on the trees were deep red and orange. It contrast to the stark gray and black of the mountain, it looked breathtaking. He stood there a while, absorbed by the colors. He became relaxed, and had a hard time stepping away from the window.

He went to find Jemma.

"Where are you at?" He hollered up the stairs. She didn't answer. He went into each of the rooms, throwing open the door each time, half expecting her to jump out and scare him.

He found her in a little girl's bedroom. She was sitting on the bed, staring out the window.

"You okay?" He asked.

She turned to him. "Yeah, I'm fine." She had a baby doll in her arms, close to her chest. It was the size of a newborn.

He sat next to her on the bed. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Jemma shook her head. "I..."

She put the doll on the bed.

"I am glad I didn't have that baby, I hope you know that.

"But, no matter how hard I deny it, it still-" her voice cracked. "Hurts my heart that things ended the way they did."

She bit her lip. "I miss him, Joel. I really do." Tears welled up in her eyes.

He went to give her a hug from the side, but she turned and wrapped her arms around his chest. Joel could feel her tears seeping through his shirt. He held her tighter to his body, and she started sobbing.

"Everyday, I ask myself 'Why me?' It's so frustrating, I just want to die." She took a deep breath. "I would have named him Bruce, and he and I would have had a great life. I would have taught him how to sing, and he would have been great. Now, I just can't bring myself to think about anything. I feel so depressed, and worthless. I failed at being a mother, which was what my life was all about. I failed my own son! I hate myself..."

Joel didn't say anything; he knew exactly what she was talking about. The empty, hopeless feeling. It lingered for years after Sarah was killed. Sometimes it came upon him when he was doing the simplest of things, and he never really talked about it.

She pressed her nails into his back, and buried her head into his shoulder. Joel could feel his own tears brimming his eyes,and he didn't even care. They fell asleep in each other's arms.

...

When Joel woke up, they were both lying on the bed. Her hair was out of the braid, and it fell over her face. His hand was up the back of her shirt, and he pulled it out slowly to avoid waking her up.

He noticed a mark on her back. He lifted her shirt up, lightly, and moved his head a little to get a better view.

They were scars from bites. She had at least thirty bites going up her torso, from her hip to the middle of her back. They weren't animal bites, they were human. Joel's blood turned cold.

She was immune? She was immune the whole time and didn't say anything? Everything started to make sense. Was this the secret she had been holding back from them?

He moved away from her on the bed. He wanted to shake her awake, ask her why she'd been hiding that from him. But Jemma looked so peaceful, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

After what seemed like forever, she stirred awake. She pushed the hair away from her face, and looked at him. Her face seemed kind of confused, then she realized where they were.

"Hey, man." She stretched her legs.

"You didn't tell me you were immune."

Jemma shot up. "What?"

"I saw the bites on your back," he said.

"Please don't tell anyone. Can we keep it a secret between us?" Her eyes were wide, and Joel could tell she was genuinely scared that he may tell someone.

"I'm not, but you don't need to hide anything from me."

They both got up and packed whatever they thought they might use, and headed back for town. It was a few hours before sundown, and Joel knew they wouldn't make it before dark.

"How'd it happen?" He asked.

"Well, it was right after we had moved to California. I was about seventeen.

"I had gone out on my own to explore the area. I went out the the bay, and I thought I was invincible. I ran around, through stores and restaurants, not pausing for one second to think that maybe, just maybe, there would be infected around. I broke into a jewelry shop, and there were like fifteen of them in there.

"I managed to kill a few of them with chairs and whatever I could get my hands on, but I was outnumbered. They jumped on me, and started biting me. I tried crawling away, but I felt like they kept pulling me back into the store.

"All of a sudden, there's a loud boom, and they scatter like cockroaches. I'm bleeding on the floor, but not to the point where I'd die soon. You know? I manage to get myself up and out of there. It was winter time, so I wrapped my coat around myself as tight as I could.

"I get home, and I've bled a lot by then. I told my dad that some animals came after me. I knew it wasn't a convincing lie, but I think he wanted to believe it, so he didn't question me. He called someone in from town to fix me up. He must have done some really great convincing.

"He told my dad I wasn't going to die, and gave me a bunch of antibiotics, in case the 'animal' that bit me had some kind of infection. I think even he knew that infected had attacked me, but it's not like he was doing it for free, so I think he didn't really care.

"I was sick the next few days. I was puking all day, and I had convinced myself that it was part of the process of becoming one of them. But after the fourth day, I knew that something was different. I hadn't changed. I got better. My dad, well, he was so excited to see me alive and well.

"We vowed to keep it a secret, though. It seemed like some kind of power that I had over other people. Like, 'hey, I got bit and didn't die, whoo hoo.' And, I was talking to someone about a year later, and they said the Fireflies were seeking some kind of cure.

"Initially, I was excited, I wanted to be a part of that. But, after some research, I realized the only way they could extract some cure from me was to kill me. Nobody knew about me, so I didn't feel like I had to hide from anyone.

"But, my father started getting crazy protective over me. So I ran away. And here I am." She clapped her hands together. "Dumb story, I know. You can tell me. I'm not like a comic book character."

Joel shrugged his shoulders. "It's not as dumb as you may think."

"Okay."

Jemma spent the next hour humming to herself. Joel was surprised she knew most of those songs. He mentioned it to her, and she explained that she always had a love for music.

"Oh, I was born with it. But my father helped me out, a bit. He taught me music theory, and what have you. He had these hopes that, one day, the world may return to a somewhat normal state. Civilized, or something. And, he was under the impression that the people who were cultured, the ones who knew about history and science, music, and all that, that people would look to them as leaders. Not that I want to be president, but I went with it."

"What happened to your mother?" He asked.

"Um, she left. Long story short."

He didn't ask anymore about it. They walked for a bit in silence, but she stopped.

"Tell me about Tess."

Joel turned back to her. "How the hell do you know bout her?"

"I have my ways," she said, and started walking again.

He sighed. "Tess... Was a partner of mine. Not much more than that."

"You weren't friends?"

"She didn't know me. I didn't want to ask about her. And we were working well with that.

"Tess... got bit when we were heading back here. She gave up her life for us. And... I can never thank her enough for that."

"Did you love her?" Jemma asked while they kept walking.

"Love? No. I cared about her as a friend. She pursued something with me, but... I never really wanted anything to do with that, I couldn't. I didn't want to make a commitment to her. It was better for us just to be friends.

"We were business partners."

Jemma grabbed his arm. "Business partners?! I think I've heard you use that term before."

"Shut up, little girl. Don't give me your attitude." Joel shoved her a little, so that she stumbled into a rock they were passing.

"Asshole!" She went to shove him back, but he caught her by her waist and started tickling her. His fingers dug into her sides to the point where it almost hurt. Jemma squirmed so much that her pack fell to the damp ground, but neither one of them picked it up. Her giggles soon became hiccups, and Joel couldn't help but laugh himself.

They rolled around on the ground together in the fading sunlight. Jemma's laughs echoed in his head, and for a moment, it was the only thing he thought of.

He snapped out of it when she was trying to push him off. "Knock it off, or I'm going to puke."

She went to get her stuff, but the ground had made the magazines soggy. She silently cursed Joel in her head, but she was grateful that he wasn't treating her like bird shit anymore.

...

As they approached the house, Joel noticed that most of the lights downstairs were on. Ellie must have left them on when she went to bed. He hoped she was in bed, anyway. Jemma went inside.

In the light, he could see mud stains on the back of her jacket. She took it off and as she was putting it away, she groaned. "It's ruined! You're going to have to buy me another." She hung it in the hall closet. Joel looked at himself. Even though his jeans were stained anyway, he noticed fresh marks on his knees and shins. Shit, he thought.

"I think she fell asleep watching television," Jemma said, and smiled. Joel headed down the hall to give her a lecture on wasting energy, but stopped in his tracks.

"Ellie, what the hell are you doing?" He asked, and stormed into the living room.

Ellie had fallen asleep on the couch, and a boy about her age was on the floor. Joel recognized him from town. Ellie jumped awake after hearing him yell, and nudged the boy with her foot. "Get up," she hissed.

Joel yelled at her while the boys slinked out of the front door. Jemma smiled at him, but the boy gave her a dirty look and walked out, without a word.

"Look, I don't even see why it's a big deal!" Ellie yelled.

"You had a boy at the house, all by yourself, let alone on a school night!"

"Fuck school! It doesn't even matter! Do you think I actually give a shit about it?! I only go because you make me!"

"I just wanted to keep you out of getting yourself into trouble!" He pointed at her. "But, no! You just want to fuck around! God, do you think of anyone besides yourself?!"

"You're not even my dad! Why do you care?!" She pushed past him and ran up to her room. Ellie slammed the door for effect.

Joel didn't say anything, but Jemma could tell he was fuming. She didn't really know why it was a big deal anyway, other than Joel didn't want to see Ellie grow up and become independent.

"Look, Joel. It's not a big deal. She's smart enough to know better to do stupid shit behind your back." Jemma said, walking into the living room.

"Like you would know," he muttered.

"She is just growing up. You have to accept that! You can't stop it from happening. She's not hurt, so it doesn't warrant this kind of reaction."

"Go away."

She turned to leave, but he heard her mumble "some kind of parent you are," She was still in arm's reach, so he grabbed her braid, and pulled her back to him.

"What did you say?" He snarled.

"I said," she reached behind her back and pulled a gun from her waistband. She held it under his jaw, and Joel stiffened. "Touch me like that again, and I'll kill you, asshole."

He let go, and she backed away. "I ain't your bitch," she said, and went to her room.


	8. Boy Talk

**I wanted to give Jemma's parents a colorful background, to make her seem cultured. I decided the infection hit New England in spring, judging from the areas in the game. No real way to tell, though. The game doesn't give an actual date, but most proms are during May. I mean, if you put the pieces together. If you have questions about the timeline, just send me a message and I'll explain it. :) Anyhoo. I was supposed to upload this Wednesday, but forgot until now! I will be posting another chapter in less than twenty hours, so be on pins and needles, it's going to be good!**

**Also, I had first written the story as a narrative with little dialogue. However, when going back through it, I tossed most of the descriptions in favor of just getting to the point. The first several paragraphs are just backstory on Jemma's parents, because I couldn't think of where else to put it.**

**A big thank you to every reader! I love ya all! Leave a review if you want, and happy reading!**

**(this is just stuff that I wrote. But, I tossed a lot of their conversation, so if you want to see more of it, just let me know and I'll work it in!)**

When Jemma was eight, her mother had left her family. It was sudden, and her father was devastated. He spent all day staring out the front window of their house, in case there was some small chance that she would come back.

She never did, and they moved the next year.

Jemma's mother had beautiful, auburn hair that hit her shoulders. In the sun, it shone bright red, and Jemma would imagine that it was on fire. Her mother had creamy skin had dozens of freckles down her face and arms. She was tall and thin, and moved like grass in the wind.

Before Jemma was born, her mother, Anna, was a dancer. She was a part of a New York dance troupe that travelled around the world. By the time she was twenty, she had been to six continents and dozens of countries. She loved it. She spent the weekends partying with exotic men, and was living the life most women her age dreamed of. She never had to worry about money, almost everything she made was put into savings. She was living the good life, and she loved dancing.

The summer of 2008 she met him. His name was Cicero, but he wanted to be called Ron. He was born in Italy, and was raised there for the first ten years of his life. His parents relocated to the US to give him a better start. He was almost twice her age, but she thought he was a genius. He wrote the musical score for movies. Ron had even won awards, and was famous in his own right.

For Anna, it was love at first sight. He was tall and fair skinned, but he had deep black hair and bright hazel eyes that made her swoon. He retained the tiniest accent, but when he was drunk, it came out in its fullest. She felt comfortable around him, and they soon married.

They moved to upstate New York to live a calmer life. Ron continued to write music, but Anna started teaching a couple of dance classes a week. She worked with young girls, and was happy enough, but she longed to be on stage again. She auditioned for a musical in the city, and preformed well.

The next week, Anna found out she was pregnant. When she came home from the doctor, the director called and said she landed the role. Anna had to turn it down. She was devastated, but she wanted to have a child. When Ron found out, he was elated. He went into a writing frenzy, telling Anna that the child inspired the best work out of him.

Jemma was born on Thanksgiving day in 2010. Anna and Ron were headed to Canada to visit her parents for the holiday, and she went into labor on the highway. Jemma was born crying. She was bright red, and wouldn't open her eyes for three days. Her parents were infatuated, and gave her the best they could.

May 2013, and the infection hit the nation. Anna and Ron's money meant nothing anymore. The town they lived in was in complete chaos, but they barricaded themselves in their home and waited for the military. Rumors of a quarantine zone in Queens drew the family to the city. They were allowed one suitcase each, and most of what they brought was taken by the authorities.

The zone was made up of two office buildings and several apartment towers. They crammed into a small apartment with another family, and Jemma was the only child. They fell asleep every night to the sound of screaming and gunfire. They lived in constant fear, but wasn't sure if it was of the military or the infected themselves. The rules were strict, and Anna couldn't help but feel that she was living in prison.

This continued through the next year, and, by then, the military cleared out most of the city. Things began to loosen, but not much. A group called the Fireflies were beginning to emerge, and they stirred things up. In what were attempts to stop the military ended up hurting the residents instead. Some days they stopped rations, and other times the power would be off for weeks.

Ron went with the flow for the next five years, and did whatever was in his power to keep Jemma safe. Anna, however, had bigger dreams. She didn't want to join the Fireflies, but she was sick of living her life in the quarantine zone. She wanted to meet new people, and do something meaningful with her life. She was thirty, and wanted to move on with her life.

She left one winter night, and had-

...

Jemma woke up abruptly, and was still sitting against the door to her room. She still gripped the gun firmly in her hand, and as she tried to let go, her hand ached. She wiped the sweat off on her pants.

She fell asleep waiting for Joel to come storming into her room. After their encounter, she heard him throwing things around in the living room. He didn't yell, but she could hear his huffy breaths through the door. Then there was a period of ringing silence, and Jemma feared he was going to beat the shit out of her. She could sense that he was bottling up something, and she thought he would take it out on either her, or Ellie.

Jemma put on some sweatpants so she could be more comfortable. It was still dark outside, and she assumed that she hadn't been asleep that long. She left her bedroom, gun still in hand, expecting to see Joel at every corner. She walked slowly, controlling each movement, but the old wooden floorboards still creaked under her weight. The lights were off in the living room, and she relied on the moonlight to get around.

Joel wasn't in the living room, but there were papers and and shit scattered around. She shivered. The house was freezing. Colder than usual. She made her way to the foyer. The front door was wide open. She peeked her head out, looking for Joel, but she didn't see him. Jemma closed the door. She thought for a moment to leave it unlocked, but changed her mind.

She started up the stairs, taking one at a time, moving slowly. She kept looking up to Joel's door, to see if it was closed. It wasn't, and his light was turned off. As she made it to the top, and leaned her body so that she could see his bed without going farther down the hall. He wasn't in bed, and Jemma assumed he had left for the night.

Ellie was asleep in her bed. When Jemma entered her room, she slowly stirred awake.

"Hey. You okay, Ellie?"

Ellie nodded. Her hair was out of its ponytail, and was matted down on one side. "Want to sleep with me?" She asked, and moved over so Jemma could lay down.

They faced each other in the bed, and didn't say anything. Jemma put the gun under her pillow. Just as she was about to fall asleep, Ellie woke her up.

"Jemma."

"What's up?"

"How am I supposed to talk to boys?"

Jemma opened her eyes. "I knew you were going to ask me this." She laughed.

Ellie sat up in bed. "I'd ask Joel, but after tonight's performance, I don't think it's a great idea."

"I don't think it's a great idea to ask Joel, anyway. He has no clue what he's talking about."

"He doesn't?"

"He's a guy! What would he know? Joel would tell you to bring a gun to the first date!"  
They laughed.

"But, really," Jemma started. "I don't have much experience talking to guys, either. I'm going to be honest. I really... didn't have the chance... It's a long story."

"Didn't you live in a QZ?" Ellie asked.

"I did. But, it's like, I couldn't go out. After my mother left, he kind of got protective. I didn't really talk to anyone, actually. I just stayed home and read books that I stole from around town."

"So, he wouldn't let you talk to guys?"

"It wasn't like that. I lived in fear that he would act out if I did. He never truly said that I couldn't. I just felt like I couldn't. Almost as if..." Jemma trailed off. "Almost as if I would be disappointing him if I were to spend my time with anyone else but him. It was weird."

Ellie scoffed. "Sounds like it. I'm surprised you're normal at all."

Jemma sat up, too. She wasn't much taller than Ellie. "I talked to people I lived near. But. You know, I never felt like I needed to be social. And, New York is a damn scary place. If the police didn't get you, the thugs would.

"It's whatever. I grew up associating mainly with my parents, exclusively. They tried to shield me from the world, which is why I felt such a huge urge to get out of town. You know."

"I don't."

"Well," Jemma started. "I could tell you about my first kiss."

Ellie's eyes got wide. Jemma could see the excitement on her face, and felt herself getting giddy over the prospect. She felt like a normal girl. This night was the equivalent of a sleepover. As she giggled with Ellie over the talk of French kissing and flirting, Jemma could feel a strange void in her body being filled. She felt the need to take care of Ellie. She wanted to rear her up, to set her in the right direction. Jemma wanted to be her mentor, because she knew Joel wouldn't be able to fill those big shoes. Jemma was the padding at the toe.

"Tell me, Ellie. Who's this boy you had over tonight?"

Ellie groaned. "It's not like that. He came over so that we could study geometry together. That's how it started. But, he wanted to eat, and you weren't home yet, so we made sandwiches while we watched a movie." She shrugged. "We weren't doing anything funny, just hanging out, I guess."

Jemma nodded. "Yeah. And?"

"I..." Ellie buried her face in her knees. "I think I like him! I'm so weird!"

"No, you aren't. He was cute, anyway. Not trying to be a perv here."

Ellie laughed. "You aren't a perv for thinking that!"

"I'm so old!" Jemma yelled, and pulled down the skin under her eyes. She moved towards Ellie, and howled like a dog. "So very, very old! I'm completely out of the dating scene!"

Ellie playfully pushed her away. "How old are you, grandma?"

"Twenty-four, working on twenty-five!" She laid a hand on her forehead. "I'm knocking on death's door, okay?"

Ellie yawned. "You're not so old. You could be like my sister or something."

Jemma laid down. "Mo' like yo momma, beeyotch." She giggled.

"How is that supposed to be funny?" Ellie asked, confused.

"Don't know, saw it in a movie once."

"Oh, okay."

They fell asleep to each other's breathing. The sun had started to rise when they fell asleep, but they didn't care. Jemma was happy to be loved, and felt so welcome with Ellie. For everything Joel wasn't, Ellie filled in. She wanted so desperately to be a part of their dysfunctional family unit, but something was holding Joel back from letting her in. Jemma was determined to find out, but doubted she would be able to.

Joel didn't return home that night, and Jemma didn't bother to unlock the door when she woke later that morning.


	9. Boy Wizard

**I know, I know. I said I'd upload a few days ago, but I had to write this chapter, something just wasn't working out. So, here it is, filler chapter. Anyway. Don't hate me, I really am posting another chapter, per usual, tomorrow. This is just some stuff where Joel comes around, because before I hadn't really had that? this is rushed, but some of you guys really pressured me into getting this done! Anyway, leave me a review, if you want, just telling me how much you hate it! I don't mind, at all! See ya tomorrow! :)**

When Joel was heading back to the house, he saw Ellie scurrying out, a few books in the crook of her arm. He hadn't noticed him, but he felt a small tinge of satisfaction when he saw that. She was going to "school" without him telling her to. He felt like he finally taught her something right.

The front door was locked, so he headed around back. The back porch was covered in fallen leaves, and as Joel stepped on them, the scent of maple flooded his senses. He back door was unlocked, and he headed inside. Jemma wasn't in the living room or kitchen. He checked her room, but she wasn't in there, either.

Joel headed upstairs, and went to Ellie's room first. When he saw that she was sleeping, he thought to leave her. But, he stayed. He watched her shoulders rise and fall as she breathed. Her back was turned to him, and her hair hung off the side of the mattress.

He still felt like he should leave her alone, and his legs twitched as he thought about it, but he stayed in place. Joel took a deep breath, and exhaled. But he was planted, right in the doorway.

"Look," he whispered. His voice was hoarse and gravely. "I'm sorry about last night. I, I overreacted. To say the least."

Joel moved into the room, and leaned his back against the wall. The floorboards creaked under his weight, but she didn't move at all.

"I don't think you understand what Ellie and I have gone through. You're right, she's not my daughter. And... I don't think of her as my daughter. But, I love her like I love my daughter. Loved my daughter.

"I fucked up last time. I let her die, I let her down, I let Claire down, and-and I can't let that happen again...

Joel closed his eyes. Why was he bothering? She couldn't hear him.

"I don't want Ellie to get hurt," he continued, against his better judgement. "I was being overprotective, or something, and I let my feelings get the best of me. She, Ellie, just doesn't know what people will do to her. Hoe easily they'll hurt her.

"I guess I'm not the one who can make that decision, but I want to. I want Ellie to be happy. I thought I could control it. I can't even control my life, hell.

"And, I'm sorry to you. You don't really know us... I guess I better do something about that. And, you were tryin' to help. I'm an asshole. I've just got this temper and..."

She hadn't moved the whole time he was there.

"Jemma?" He walked to the bed, and put a hand on her shoulder. She didn't flinch. Joel pulled her shoulder to the side so that she would face him.

"Can I get a glass of water?" Her voice was shaky. Jemma's cheeks were flushed with fever, and there were dark circles underneath her eyes. Her skin was slick with sweat, and her hair stuck to her forehead and neck.

He got some water from the upstairs bathroom. When he came back to the room, Jemma was sitting up against the headboard.

"Here," and he handed her the glass.

Her hands were shaky, and as she lifted the glass to drink, she spilled most of it down the front of her shirt.

"Fuck," she mumbled, and Joel took the glass from her. "I think... I'm sick." Jemma closed her eyes and sighed.

Joel took a seat at the end of the bed. "Yeah. At least you got Ellie off to school."

"Ha... I told her not to go... guess she didn't want to deal with me."

He shook his head. He could figure as much.

"You want something to eat?" He asked.

"Yeah."

He found some leftover scrambled eggs in the fridge from the morning before. He got himself a piece of bread and butter.

"Did you hear anything I said earlier?" Joel asked as they ate.

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothin'."

Jemma laid back down. "Tell me about your daughter."

Joel sighed. "When you're better."

He wanted to tell her, but he couldn't find the words. He knew Jemma could relate to him, in some way. He hadn't told anybody, not even Tess. Hell, Tess didn't know he even had a daughter. He wouldn't even talk about it with Tommy. It was too painful to put into words.

He wondered how Jemma felt. She had to kill her own son, for God's sake. Yet, she seemed relatively calm about it. Joel couldn't help but think that she was keeping it all inside, trying to keep up with appearances. But, the way she acted, he could see the pain in her eyes at moments. Just a small crack in the perfect foundation. Yet, just enough to make the whole thing give. Joel wondered when that was going to happen.

Jemma was staring off into space. She looked like a completely different person, so lost in another world. Her expression had hardened, and the wear of the world marred her facade.

Joel picked up their dishes and headed downstairs. As he rinsed them off, he could see another batch of storm clouds on the horizon. He hoped it wouldn't be as bad as last time.

The living room was a disaster. Joel stacked the papers into their orderly piles, and returned everything to the way Jemma had them the day before. He lit a fire in the stove, and waited for it to settle down. As the wood popped and creaked, Joel cleared his mind and concentrated on his senses. The heat from the stove felt exquisite on his cold hands and feet. The smell of ash was comforting, and he could feel his shoulders loosen and relax.

Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep, sitting in front of the fire.

...

Jemma tried to get out of bed, but the room was swirling around her. She tried to focus on the floor, but she was too dizzy. A wave of nausea swept over her, and she threw up on the comforter.

"Fuck," she groaned.

Jemma balled up the quilt and pushed it into the hall. She leaned against the walls, trying to keep herself standing. She was just so damn cold, and it was all she could think about. Shivers racked her body, and Jemma stumbled into the bathroom.

"No, no, no, no, no," she whispered, and turned on the hot water in the shower. Jemma sat in the shower, clothes still on, trying to soak up the heat. The water pounded on her back and neck, but she still was freezing. Her stomach was killing her, but there wasn't much she could do about it in that godforsaken town.

...

"Joel."

He could hear the sound of dripping on the floor. His head had slumped to his chest, and as he woke, his neck protested.

He turned. Jemma was standing behind him, her clothes dripping wet. She was shivering, and all the color had left her face. "Do you have any aspirin, or something?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get you something. Go dry off."

Joel rummaged through the kitchen drawers, looking for anything that might help her, expired, or not. There were packets of pudding mix, and plastic chip bag clips, but nothing important. The upstairs bathroom was no better. He went through his own belongings, but all he could get was a sip of cough syrup.

"Here," he said, and handed her the bottle. She was laying in her bed, hand over her eyes. Jemma groaned, and threw the bottle to the floor.

"Thanks, anyway," she said, and smiled.

He brought in a chair from the kitchen, and put it next to her bed. "Want to hear a bedtime story?"

"Sure, I have a couple books over there." Jemma pointed toward the window, and Joel saw them sitting on the sill. They were 'When the Wind Blows,' by John Saul, and 'Hannibal,' by Thomas Harris. Not exactly what he had in mind. He chose Hannibal, and sat down.

Joel cleared his throat. "'You would think that such a day would tremble to begin.'"

He read aloud for her, and she stayed awake the whole time. Jemma watched him as he spoke, the way he licked his lips after every few paragraphs. He cocked an eyebrow when he questioned a word, but continued on, knowing his ego could be damaged had he stumbled over it. She wouldn't tell him, though, that she had already finished the book a few nights earlier. As he read it, though, it took on a different light, and she could concentrate on the meaning, and not just the story itself.

Joel became almost completely absorbed by the book. He didn't care much for Clarice, she was kind of a slut, and stupid in her own ways. But, that Hannibal! He was a genius. Joel knew that he was the villain, but he couldn't help but fall in love with the character. Hannibal was charismatic, and was smart enough to know how to use it for his own benefit. Not that he agreed with that, necessarily, but he was the most likable one so far.

"Okay," he said, and closed the book. "If I read anymore, my voice is gonna give."

"I'll read for you." She sat up, slowly. "To return the favor."

"But, you aren't well."

Jemma stood up next to him. "Better than before, but I've got a killer stomachache... Shit."

"What?"

She groaned. "I barfed all over the quilt on her bed. Those eggs you gave me were shit, Joel."

"Not my fault, Ellie made 'em."

She crammed the quilt into the washer, and poured some foul smelling soap on top. The washer squeaked and squealed as it hummed to life, and she went upstairs to Joel's room.

Surprisingly, his room was neat and clean, unlike the rest of the house when she came. His few items of clothing hung in the closet, and his other possessions lined the bottom row of a bookshelf. He told her he had several books, and she was amazed that they weren't picture books.

Granted, she had read them all before, but Joel had some taste. She decided on a book about a boy wizard. Joel only had the first one, but Jemma didn't like the rest of the series as much, anyway.

They both laid on his large bed, Jemma resting against the headboard, and Joel laying on his stomach, eyes closed. As he listening to her sweet voice, he imagined a world parallel to their own. One with magic and wishes, invincibility and flying brooms. He wondered what life would be like now, if he had magic. Joel would free the world of infected, and he would conjure up some succulent beef steak and wine. He mouth began to water, and he imagin-

Jemma wasn't talking anymore. He opened his eyes, and saw that she was still reading, but not aloud. When she caught his eyes, she said "I thought you had fallen asleep."

"No, I don't think I did."

"Keep saying that."

Joel shrugged. "You okay?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, and closed the book.

"You feeling alright?" He touched her cheek with his hand. She was still hot to the touch, but she improved a lot from the morning.

"Yeah, I think I just have some flu or something. Some food, I don't know..."

Joel kept his hand on her cheek. She had beautiful blue eyes, but they weren't all blue. As he looked closer, he noticed a green ring around the pupil. She had dark eyelashes, much darker than her blonde hair. She had a few freckles on her cheeks, and they trailed down her neck. Joel's hand followed them.

"What the hell is this?!" Ellie stood in the doorway of his room.


	10. The Both of Us

**If you had been paying attention, this should come as no surprise to you. If you're wondering what happened to Jemma, it's coming in a couple of chapters. I didn't disregard the fact she's sick. She feels ill, but still functions. Anyway. Thanks for reading, and I'll update soon! :)**

"It's not what you think," Joel said, and jumped off the bed.

Ellie walked into the room, and threw a photograph in front of Jemma. She looked at it, and a look of shock came over her face.

"You little shit!" She yelled, and stood up. "What the fuck were you doing, going through my stuff?!" Jemma grabbed Ellie by the shoulders. "You think I'm hiding something from you?!"

Ellie pushed her off. "Where did you get that?!" She pointed to the photo.

Joel picked it up. It was of a small family. A woman, in her twenties, with long auburn hair and light green eyes. She had a young face, but wore heavy makeup in an attempt to look older. The man she was with was much older than her. He was fair skinned, but it had a golden hue to it. He had elegant facial features, and he immediately knew he was Jemma's father. Then, he saw a young Jemma. She wore disturbingly adult clothes; her outfit was more put together than her mother's. Her hair was much lighter then, but he could still tell it was her, mostly from the attitude she was giving the camera.

He flipped it over. It read, 'Anna, Cicero, and Jemma- Chicago, 2013.' He flipped it over again. There was something about them, the adults looked so familiar to him, but he couldn't place what.

"It's her parents," Joel said, and handed the photo back to Ellie. "See for yourself."

"Look at her," Ellie pointed to the woman. "Her name's Anna."

"Yeah, my mother's name was Anna."

Ellie looked back from Joel to Jemma. Her face was frantic, almost. "That's my mother's name."

Joel shook his head. "What're you tryin' to say?"

She held the picture up to her face. "She looks like me."

"Oh, my God." Jemma hesitated. "That's not possible."

Joel started putting things together. Ellie was immune, Jemma was immune. As he looked at them both, he realized they had similar facial features. They could definitely be sisters. And Joel did the math in his head. From what Jemma had told him, her mother could have left while she was pregnant with Ellie. The times matched. And the woman in the photo did look like Ellie. Even the man, he could see the facial structure there. It was possible.

"How else can you explain it?" He asked. "You're both immune, which is rare enough-"

Jemma interrupted. "What? She's immune? You didn't want to say anything about that?"

Ellie looked as confused as Jemma. "What else aren't you telling us, Joel?"

"You could be sisters. I'm just talking about facts here." He didn't want to get away from the subject of their whole conversation.

Jemma sat down on the bed. Her head was foggy, and the conversation wasn't making it any better. "Did you know anything about your mother, Ellie?"

She shook her head. "Just, she knew this woman, Marlene, and she took care of me when my mother took off."

"Wait. Your mother left you?"

Ellie nodded.

"That bitch. I thought she died. What a whore. She did that to us, then you.

"Marlene was our neighbor, back before the outbreak. My father told me she went bat shit crazy after everything went down. She was dark, and had really curly hair. If it's the same woman we're talking about, of course." Jemma could hardly believe it.

"I didn't really know her that well. I think it's the same Marlene. With the Fireflies, you know." Ellie said.

Jemma closed her eyes. "Fuck, how did this happen? How is this even possible?"

Joel sat down next to Jemma, facing Ellie. "Coincidence."

"It's not coincidence, Joel," she said. "It was supposed to happen, God allowed it to happen. He knew that we needed to meet each other, and so he put us on this path."

"Don't get all religious on me."

"I'm just saying. Everything happens for a reason. Mere coincidence doesn't make any sense, whatsoever."

Ellie handed the picture back to Jemma. "So, what do you think?" She asked.

"About?"

"Us."

"Well, the both of us..." Jemma looked down at the photo. "We are sisters, I guess. It's just a lot to digest right now."

Ellie leaned over, and gave Jemma a hug. Ellie held her tightly, and she could feel Jemma stiffen under her.

"Ellie, stop, you'll make me throw up." She pulled away, and stood up. "I'm really tired. Come and get me when it's dinner time,"

...

Ellie was ecstatic. She had a sister! A sister who fell out of the sky, unexpectedly, but, a sister! She wasn't as happy about the sister part as she was about the family part. Ellie wasn't alone, and that made her feel better.

Jemma wasn't as excited, but Ellie didn't care. She just went through some things in Jemma's room, and there the picture was. Immediately, Ellie could recognize herself in Anna's picture. That was the only time she had seen her mother. She was better than she thought. And her dad. Ellie couldn't believe that was her dad! They were so happy looking.

But, she had a sister! Ellie couldn't stop thinking about it- she was overjoyed. And that it was Jemma, of all people! She liked her so much, but Ellie couldn't help but think she was hiding something from them. It didn't matter much, Jemma was awesome, and that's all she cared about.

Joel looked dazed.

"What's up?" Ellie asked, and leaned on the wall.

"Ellie..." He sighed. "I need to tell you about some things."

"Like?"

"What happened back in Salt Lake."


	11. Abracadabra

**Yeah, I know. I took a long time getting this out.**

**Well, in case any of you were wondering, I have actually written this chapter about ten times. The first one had absolutely NOTHING to do with this one. I wanted to write one about Ellie and Joel's conversation about what really happened at Salt Lake City, but it seemed strangely personal, and I could never find the right words for it. So, you guys can imagine for yourself what happened, unless you REALLY wanted me to publish that.**

**Also, I'm starting a blog with semi-daily updates on this story. My tumblr username is nuit-sans-fin (.tumblr), I don't know, they won't let me post a link in the chapter. You can ask me questions, or whatever on there.**

**AND, (haha, I have a lot to say.) I'm moving, for the second time in two months, and this will be the third state for me to live in, in less than two months! It's like a record for me! I'm moving to Idaho! My story will be taking place in Idaho in the future. Now, mind you, I had already planned that out before I even imagined that I'd be moving. Anyway, it's just a coincidence, I think.**

**For those who always want a lot of details, here's some info about what I imagined for this chapter:**

**Jemma's dress: Cotton Spandex Jersey, Double U-Neck Long Sleeve Mini Dress, from American Apparel (I know, that's a mouthful).**

**The first song Joel hears playing: Dirty Laundry, Don Henley.**

**The second song: Abracadabra, by the Steve Miller Band.**

**So, if you want weird updates on me, and this story (as if you're actually interested, I know) go follow me on Tumblr! Enjoy, and I promise to update soon!**

**...**

"Tommy, when have I ever lied to you?"

"I don't think I should answer that."

Joel told Tommy about Ellie and Jemma. He wasn't very accepting of the idea. There was no real way to prove it, but they had enough to safely assume the two were family. Just looking at them, he could tell there was some relation. Jemma looked like an older version of Ellie, but her features were more refined and elegant. They were about the same height, and even some of the mannerisms were the same. It still wasn't enough for Tommy.

They stood in Tommy's kitchen for a good five minutes, in complete silence. Joel's thoughts were racing, and, on the contrary, his brother could think of nothing at all. It came as a shock to both of them.

"So, are you going to treat Jemma like your daughter?" Tommy asked, taking a seat at his kitchen table.

"Hell, no."

He laughed. "I figured as much."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well," Tommy explained. "She sure ain't the daughter type. And, ah, never mind."

"And what?" Joel could feel himself getting defensive.

"Nothin'."

"Jemma's pretty sick. Do we have any aspirin from those guys in Denver?" The town made trades with a group of men from Colorado. The men from the city brought things like medicine and batteries in exchange for crops and wheat and potatoes. Joel had only seen them once. The leader of the group reminded him of himself, strangely enough.

"Like what? The last they brought us was some fucking heartburn shit. Like that's going to do us any good."

Joel looked out the window at the darkening clouds. "She's got a fever. I don't know, have we got any aspirin or somethin'?"

Tommy nodded. "Aspirin, yeah, but whatever's making her sick isn't going to get any better. It's probably a cold, but watch it."

The older brother got up from the table. "I still can't believe it."

"What, how Ellie has a sister, or that she happened to land here?"

"Both." Joel shook his head. "I don't know how the hell she ended up here. Jackson, of all places."

"Where's she from? Did she say?" Tommy asked.

"Ah, I think she said California, but I know she wasn't born there."

"That's a damn long way. Did she leave by herself?"

"I honestly don't know." Joel leaned against the kitchen counter. "I know she got picked up by some hunters."

Tommy scoffed. "How the hell is she still alive?"

"One of 'em got her pregnant. They left her to die when they found out."

"What the hell?"

Joel paused. "Yeah. They were all raping her. I don't know, she didn't say that much about it."

Tommy stood and faced Joel. "I don't know why she didn't kill herself. I can't imagine living with that. God." He went to the bathroom and pulled a bottle of aspirin from the cabinet. "Here."

"I need to tell you something, Tommy."

"What?"

Joel looked down the hall to see if Maria was standing there. They were the only ones in the house.

"Jemma's immune. Just like Ellie."

"Was she involved with the Fireflies?"

"No. I know she had heard something about it, but decided not to do anything."

Tommy closed his eyes. "Oh, God, now it all makes sense. Joel, you should have seen her baby. That thing wasn't a human." He shuddered as he recalled the memory.

"Does anybody know about what happened?"

"Just the neighbors. Everyone else thinks it was a miscarriage."

Joel sighed. "Let's keep it that way. I don't want anyone gettin' funny about it."

"How's she handling it?"

"Who?"

"Jemma."

"She's pretty secretive, so I wouldn't know. But she seems okay."

Tommy walked Joel out of the house. "Just watch her. See ya later."

...

The sun was beginning to set when Joel returned home. Ellie had left after their conversation about the Fireflies. She was more upset at herself than anything else. She didn't want to listen to him, and she was in denial about everything.

Joel went to the backyard to split some wood for the stove. The air was turning bitter cold, and chills ran up his spine.

In the fading light, Joel set a piece of wood on a stump. He raised the axe behind his head, and swung with such precision only years could give him. As the blade hit wood, Joel's nerves fired off. It was exhilarating, and he loved it. He began to lose himself in the work.

He didn't realize that he had spilt nearly the whole pile he set out for the week. His shoulder ached, and the sun had fallen below the mountains. Jemma's bedroom light illuminated the backyard, and Joel noticed her windows were open. He set the axe down and walked over to the closest window.

There was the sound of music coming from her room. He crept quietly to the window. As he peered in, he saw Jemma standing in front of a full length mirror, one she probably found in the garage. She was wearing a dark green dress that was cut low in the back, but very tight on her body. She wore shiny black high heels, with a single strap across her ankle. Her body swayed to the beat, and Joel wanted to keep watching.

As the music played, Jemma swung her hips to the verses. She kept her eyes closed, but moved perfectly, as though she had already choreographed it. Joel watched the dress hug the curves of her body, and he moved closer to the open window.

All of a sudden, she turned to face him, eyes open. She walked to the window, but Joel moved back into the shadows.

"I know you're out there. Come in with me!" She leaned out, and saw him standing flush to the house. Her breath came out in a white cloud, and Joel wondered why she had the windows open.

"Um, I've got other stuff to do." He picked up an armful of wood, and headed into the living room. Ellie reading on the couch, but she ignored his presence. He built a fire, but his mind kept drifting off to Jemma.

She was a weird girl. Her emotions were all over the place. In some ways he felt like he'd known her a very long time, but she she never revealed much about her and her past. She was living on the earth, yet she wasn't a part of it. Jemma didn't scuttle around in fear like everyone else. She made her own rules, and Joel wondered how she could survive long on that. She was kind of a bitch, too.

Joel finished up with the stove, and looked back at Ellie. She was still reading the book, and didn't even attempt to look at him.

"Hey, Ellie. If you wanna talk about something, I'm here."

She didn't respond, so he headed to Jemma's room. She had pushed her bed against one wall, freeing up the majority of the floor. He noticed that several soggy magazines were hanging on the headboard, in her attempt to dry them out. There was an open bottle of alcohol on the window sill, and he knew immediately that she had been drinking. Jemma was standing in the corner of the room.

"Let's dance," she said.

"I don't dance," Joel mumbled, and took a step back.

Jemma walked over to a CD player that was sitting on the floor. She skipped forward a few tracks, and turned the volume up. "You're gonna want to dance."

The music started playing, and after a few seconds Joel recognized it. "This song is older than me," he said.

She started mouthing the words, while moving forward to him. She danced a few inches away from him, begging him, with her eyes, to come dance. Joel stayed still, and tried to act repulsed. When the chorus came, she danced around him in a circle, still mouthing the words. He couldn't believe she knew them.

"Come on, Joel. Dance." She took his hand and placed her other hand on his shoulder. "You know you want to."

He stayed completely still while Jemma moved with his arms. He couldn't tell if she was drunk, or just plain crazy.

"Dance with me," she said, and pressed her body against his. Joel tried to think of something else, but he secretly loved that feeling. He hadn't been with anyone in over a year, but Jemma? He couldn't do that. Not to her.

He rolled his eyes and started to move to the music, all the whole, slowly moving away from her.

"Have fun," she said, and moved towards him again. She started mouthing the words again, comically this time, all the while, dancing with him. She was in her own world, and she was having so much fun. Jemma stumbled on her own feet.

He laughed, and dipped her. Joel started to move a little more, and responded to Jemma's movements. He could feel her warm skin through the dress. He moved his hands lower, and pulled her closer to him. She turned, so that her back was touching his chest. She pulled his hands over her stomach, and they moved together with the music.

Jemma turned around. She was smiling. Joel put his arms around her, and pushed her back to her bed. She laid down, and started mouthing the words again. She laughed. "This song is so goddamn cheesy," she said.

Joel laid next to her, and moved so close that their bodies touched. He looked into her eyes. She was smiling, but her eyes were sad.

"What's wrong?" He touched her shoulder.

"I just wanted to have fun," she said, and shrugged off his hand. She got up, turned the music off, and went into the bathroom. She locked the door behind her.

Joel remembered the aspirin in his pocket. He left the bottle next to the glass on the window sill, and went upstairs.

"What were you guys doing?" Ellie asked, when he was walking into his room.

"I don't know," he said, and closed his door.

...

Jemma was burning up. She was sweating through her dress, and she felt awful. A deep pain come from inside of her, and she knew she was really sick. The whiskey dulled it, but now that was starting to wear off. She tried not to panic, but she felt like she was dying.

She splashed cold water on her face and neck in a feeble attempt to make herself feel better. Shivers racked her body, not because she was cold, but because her body was trying to give up on her.

She returned to her room, and Joel was gone. She was still hot, but closed the windows, anyway. There was a bottle of aspirin on the sill, and she opened it. It was mostly full, but she didn't think it'd help her much.

Jemma pulled out four, and washed them down with the alcohol. She cringed at the taste. She turned the light off, and took off her shoes and dress.

She slipped into her bed, and thought about what had just happened. She was in such a good mood, but then it was gone. Was it the way Joel looked at her? Was it how sick she felt? Was she just crazy? Jemma curled up into a ball, trying to sleep the thoughts away.


	12. Red Cross

**I just feel like my story is taking too long to get nowhere. So, I'm speeding things up. If you hate it, just let me know. I changed my blog name to the-beginning-of-us on tumblr. So, if you feel so inclined, you can go check it out!**

**I really will update soon! A couple of you are getting on me for not updating more often! Hahaha. Thanks for reading my story! Leave a review if you have any thoughts! Good or bad, I really don't mind! :) Enjoy!**

**...**

The next few days flew by in a blur. Jemma got sicker and sicker, but she still tried to maintain a normal lifestyle. Ellie ignored Joel, and spent most of her free time with the horses. By Sunday, Joel was grateful to see everyone at the town dinner.

He sat down with Ellie. Slowly, other residents came in. The cold wind flushed their cheeks, and everyone sat close to keep warm. Jemma had stayed behind for a while, and she still hadn't shown up.

"Hey, Joel. How you doin'?" An old man, about twenty years older than Joel stood behind the two. Joel couldn't recognize his face or voice, but he went with the conversation, anyway.

"I'm surviving. How bout yourself?"

"Dam happy, we're having turkey tonight."

Joel tried to hide his excitement. "Turkey?"

"Yes. Dale found a few of them downriver."

Joel's mouth watered as he thought of the taste of turkey. It brought him back to fall nights, when his family would gather around the table for Thanksgiving. Back when everything was happy. Cranberry jelly, which he hated, but he craved it all the same. Stuffing, and warm rolls, with butter melting over. He stomach growled.

The man walked away, and Joel wondered who he was.

...

Jemma felt like shit, but made herself go to dinner, anyway. She smeared makeup on her face in a poor attempt to look half human, but she didn't feel like herself. As she walked down an empty sidewalk to the city hall, she watched a few birds in the sky.

The sun was setting, and they were silhouettes, but she admired their grace. They seemed to be unaffected by the current events. Their lives were controlled by the weather, and they knew only one thing: survival. In some ways, Jemma envied their ignorance, but at another turn, she found there was more to life than mere survival.

She saw Tommy and Maria coming towards her. They were holding hands.

"Hey, Jemma. Are you headed over to dinner?" Tommy asked.

"Um, yeah." She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I don't just walk this street for fun."

"Not in this weather."

The three walked together for a short while, but Maria ran ahead when she remembered she was in kitchen duty.

"How are you?" Tommy asked, still walking.

"I'm fine," she said. Jemma didn't want to reveal too much. She didn't know what Joel had told him already. She wanted him to ask her directly what he wanted to know.

"No. How are you, really?" Tommy looked at her from the corner of his eye. "You can tell me."

Jemma stopped walking. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah."

"I don't want you thinking the wrong thing here. I- he's your brother, and I know that affects things, but..." She hesitated. "Joel has been lying to me since day one. I don't know if it's because he doesn't know me, but I don't think I'm the only one. I trust him, in ways, but in so many others, I don't.

"What I'm asking is, do you trust Joel?"

Tommy was surprised that she'd ask that.

"Well," he started. "I'm gonna put it this way. I'd trust Joel with my life, but I sure I hell don't trust him to tell me the truth."

"Okay."

"Is that it?" He asked.

"I'm actually having a hard time. With everything."

Out of nervous habit, he looked down the street to see if anyone was around. "What are you talkin' about?"

"I remember when I found out I was pregnant, how scared shitless I was. I couldn't stop thinking about raising a child in a world like this. And, I honestly knew I wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Every day, I prayed that I would have a miscarriage. I prayed that the next man would beat me so hard I would die. But that day never came. After a couple of months, I found that began to love my baby. I hated how it came to be, but I loved it.

"When he was born, for a few seconds I wanted nothing but to love him. But when I saw that, that monster, I was filled with hate. It was burning through my body. I wanted nothing more than to see him die. It was really fucking stupid, you know. To have the one thing in life I'm supposed to love, turn into the thing I've learned to hate."

She took a few steps toward Tommy. "But the horrible thing is, I don't feel guilty about it. And I feel bad that I don't feel guilty."

"I'm not sure what to say." He said.

"Nothing, I'm just conflicted." She smiled.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Can I have a hug?" She asked.

Tommy opened his arms, welcoming her. Jemma wrapped her arms around him. She smelled warm, if there was such a smell. He tightened his arms around her. She was standing on her tiptoes, but the comfort of his touch kept her there. They embraced for several long moments.

"I'm sick," she said, and pulled away.

They parted, and began walking again. Tommy's steps were sporadic as his mind wandered. Jemma walked slowly and carefully, although she was as lost in thought as he.

They were both thinking the same thing: Jemma was crazy as a bat.

...

The dining room was packed. There were three long cafeteria tables, each filled with the town residents. Smells of the upcoming dinner filled the air, and Joel anxiously waited for the turkey.

He saw Tommy come in. He was about to wave him over, but he saw Jemma come in behind him. He looked away for a brief moment, but turned back to watch them. He ushered her to a seat next to him, and as she sat down, her gaze met Joel's. He averted his eyes to the nearest person, who happened to be Ellie.

She was tracing lines on the table, bored out of her mind.

"Hey, Ellie. Want to watch a movie when we get home?"

She shrugged.

"Have you ever seen Indiana Jones?"

"An Indian what?" She asked, looking up.

"Indiana Jones," he explained. "Was a history teacher who went around and looked for world treasure."

"Sounds lame," Ellie said, looking away.

"Did I mention he has a whip?"

"A whip? I guess I can give it a try."

Joel looked up again at Jemma. She was talking to a few people seated near her. Her hands were in the air, wildly moving. Her eyes were wide open, and she was talking fast. Suddenly, the group erupted into laughter. Jemma didn't laugh, but her lips formed a small smile.

He noticed that she looked different. It was something on her face. Something was different. He couldn't place what, but he found himself staring at her again. He closed his eyes.

...

Jemma was a crowd pleaser. She was so full of facts and puns, everyone wanted to listen. Tommy admired her for that. She was so young, but she rattled off like she had been living in the past world. She was a welcome addition to the town.

The food came in, and a certain silence fell over the room. The turkey wasn't what he had been expecting. They were small and quite dry.

"Yuck," Jemma whispered. She pushed the meat around her plate, drowning it in gravy. It was still pitiful tasting, and she laughed to herself.

"Not like what I remember," Tommy said, motioning to the food. "I wonder why it's so bad tonight."

"Don't blame the bird," she said, and pushed her plate forward. "Blame the person who cooked the damn thing. Can you pour me a glass of water?"

Tommy waited for her to hand him her glass, but she wouldn't. He poured her water, and watched her lift her glass. She was shaking so badly that she almost spilled water down her front. Jemma set the glass down quickly, and saw that he was watching her.

"Are you alright?"

She put her hands in her lap. "No, but can we talk about it later?"

Tommy stood up. "No, let's go talk to Maria."

...

Jemma cringed as Tommy and Maria kissed. The three of them were in what used to be a break room, but it had since been converted into an office. Maps of Wyoming were pinned all over the walls, and she felt like the room was getting smaller every minute.

"What's up?" Maria asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Jemma was intimidated by her.

"Um, I don't know."

"We can help you out," Tommy said.

Jemma pulled her hair over her shoulder. "Look, I'm really sick. It's not normal, I can just feel it. And, there's this clinic in Idaho. Just on the other side of the Tetons. If I have a car, I can get there in two hours. Do you have a car or something?"

"Can't you take a horse?" He asked.

"I don't think she'd make it," Maria answered. "The weather's been pretty bad. I don't think we should risk it."

Tommy gestured toward a map. "Where in Idaho?"

Jemma pointed to a city. "Here. I went there when I was pregnant. They take people from the tri-state area. They'll remember me."

"Can you trust them?" She asked.

"Yeah, definitely. It's two sisters. They really helped me out before."

"Are you taking Joel?" Tommy asked.

Jemma scoffed. "I don't know."

"Did you even talk to him about it?"

"No way." She answered.

"Well," he shrugged. "He's the last one to use a working car. You need to talk to him."

She groaned. "Whatever."

...

Joel watched as Jemma leaned over the engine of the SUV.

"Is there anything you don't know how to do?" He asked.

"I can't sew," she muttered, and pulled a belt from the inside. "This." She held it up for him to see. "It came loose. That's why you couldn't get anywhere."

"I don't think sewing is that big of a deal."

She closed the hood. "Well, I can't shoot a bow thing."

"What? A bow and arrow?"

Jemma nodded. "Yeah, like something, notching, or..." She trailed off.

It was early in the morning, and their breath formed clouds. Joel shivered as a small breeze blew cold air up his jacket.

"I'll go get Ellie," he said.

Jemma drove. She was silent, keeping her eyes on the road. Joel looked out the window at the landscape. The bright reds and oranges made the mountain look like it was on fire. He wanted to make conversation, but Jemma had been holding him at a distance.

Ellie flipped through her comics. She had read them all before, but she tried to reinvent the story in her head. She was soon completely absorbed in the other world, and she started to drift off into sleep.

They soon arrived to the city Jemma told him about. It was small and deserted looking. She turned down a series of unpaved roads, and the "clinic" came into sight.

...

It was an old optometrist's office, but there were white tarps hung over the building signs. A crude red cross was painted on each of them.

Jemma walked confidently through the front doors. Immediately, Joel pulled out his Shorty, but tucked it away when he saw an old woman sitting at a desk.

"Oh, dear, you're back." The woman had a heavy accent, but Joel couldn't place what it was. Jemma walked to her, and the woman stood. She was several inches taller than Jemma, and about a hundred pounds heavier. She wore white doctor scrubs and had her hair pulled back into a net.

Jemma said something to the woman in another language. It sounded either Italian or French to him, but didn't know for sure. Jemma was fluent in it, though, and Joel wondered how she managed to learn it.

He watched their body language, and Joel understood. She was telling her about her baby, and how she lost it. Or, so he thought. The older woman had a worried look on her face, and kept saying the same phrase over and over.

"Incroyable, c'est incroyable."

The woman walked down the hall, and called for Jemma. "Are you coming?" She asked, and disappeared into a room.

Jemma turned to Joel and Ellie.

"I'll be done soon. Don't worry."


End file.
